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Ceramics

Rooms 136 – 146

The V&A’s Ceramics collections are unrivalled anywhere in the world. Encyclopaedic and global in scope, they encompass the history of fine ceramic production from about 2500 BC to the present day.

The collections are particularly strong in international contemporary studio ceramics, European porcelain and pottery from 1500 onwards, and ceramics from China, Japan and the Middle East. Highlights include the collections of Italian Renaissance maiolica, Chinese porcelain, Dutch Delft, British and European porcelain, 19th-century art pottery and exhibition pieces, and tiles.

Where to find this collection

Rooms 136 – 146
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flower pyramid — Flower pyramid, made by Greek A factory and Metalen Pot factory, about 1695, Delft, Netherlands

figure group — Polito's Menagerie, figure group, about 1830, Staffordshire, England

(Detail) Figure, by Johann Joachim Kändler, manufactured by Meissen porcelain factory, about 1732, Meissen, Germany

coffee pot — Kestrel Coffee Set, coffee pot, designed by Susie Cooper, manufactured by Susie Cooper Pottery, 1932, Burslem, England

stick stand — Stick stand, by Minton, 1870 – 1900, Stoke-on-Trent, England

pot — Snow Lady Gourd, pot, by Kate Malone, 2008, London, England

jar — Jar, 3500 – 2500 BC, Kanto, Japan

ewer — Ewer, 1522 – 1566, Jingdezhen, China

plate — Plate, by Maestro Jacopo, 1510, Cafaggiolo, Italy

dish — Dish, 1590 – 1600, Iznik, Turkey

group — The Music Lesson, by Joseph Willems, manufactured by Chelsea Porcelain factory, about 1765, London, England

form — Form, by Gillian Lowndes, 1986, UK

A-Z of Ceramics

Do you know your A-marked from your Factory Z? Gen up on your ceramics knowledge with our A-Z

Highlights from the Ceramics collection

Take a tour through the treasure trove ceramincs collection and discover some of its secrets

Richard Batterham: methods of making

Find out more about Richard Batterham's commitment to the whole process of making

The Wedgwood anti-slavery medallion

Re-thinking the narrative

The Rouen gamesboard tray

Lessons in love from a rare ceramic board game

Re-engineering the Brown Betty teapot

The evolution of a design classic, stretching back over 400 years

Piccolpasso's treatise on maiolica

The V&A not only holds the greatest collection of maiolica in the world, but also this unique treatise describing its manufacture.

Blanc de Chine – white porcelain from China

A centuries-old Chinese porcelain tradition reinvented by contemporary designers

Shipwrecked ceramics

Discover the fascinating cargoes retrieved from Asian trade ships, wrecked in the South China Sea

Art Deco: Clarice Cliff

Discover how Clarice Cliff's bold, Art Deco ceramics brought modernity to the kitchen sink

'Bowl' by Hans Coper

A rare work by influential studio potter Hans Coper joins the V&A's Ceramics collection

Presepio: an Italian Nativity scene

Our traditional Italian Nativity scene includes fascinating details about everyday life in 18th-century Naples

History of the Ceramics Galleries & Ceramic Staircase

This elaborate staircase was designed to highlight the versatility and beauty of decorative ceramics

Chinese blue-and-white ceramics

Discover some of the most iconic and enduring objects in the history of Chinese ceramics

William De Morgan – an introduction

Meet an imaginative and innovative 19th-century artist-potter

Contemporary ceramic making from the Middle East

Discover the meanings, inspiration and processes of making

Fooling the eye: Trompe l'oeil ceramics

Soup tureen or bunch of asparagus? Take a closer look at trompe l'oeil ceramics

How was it made? An agate teapot

Experimenting with how the object was originally made