The Stibbert Museum Shows "The Renaissance of Italian Majolica"

Written by Arthur Wesley Wednesday, 28 September 2011 21:39

Florence, Italy. The Stibbert Museum is proud to present "The Renaissance of Italian Majolica", on view at the museum from September 30th through April 15th 2012. The splendor of the enamels, the iridescent luster, the pictorial quality and eclecticism of the forms that dazzled visitors to the World's Fair will be the protagonists of this exhibition dedicated to the art of ceramics in Florence after the unification of Italy. A selection of nineteenth-century ceramics from the Museum of Bath, alongside the Museum's collection of majolica Cantagalli Stibbert, form the core of the exhibition, around which will be shown important loan items from such prestigious institutions as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London , the Museum of Ceramics in Sevres, by William De Morgan Foundation, London, as well as previously unseen pieces from private collections.

With over one hundred works of art (vases, jars, plates, tiles and garden items), the two famous factories of Ginori Cantagalli are at the heart of the exhibition. The show is obviously dedicated to fans of a genre very much appreciated throughout Europe, as demonstrated by the financial participation of the prestigious Swiss foundation Stiftung Ceramics Italian-English in the publication of the catalog (Publisher Polistampa). The spectacular beauty of these artifacts, vibrant colors and the different styles (neoclassical, Renaissance, Rococo, Art Nouveau), it is bound to fascinate the general public. For Serious students, there are also important new sources in unpublished documents (mostly from the archives of the Museum of Bath). The exhibition includes an extensive educational program aimed at artisan potters, which involves four museums, in addition to Stibbert and Shower (Sesto Fiorentino), the Museum of Montelupo and Galileo Chini in Borgo San Lorenzo are both contributing.

The Stibbert Museum (Italian: Museo Stibbert) is located on via Frederick Stibbert on the hill of Montughi in Florence, Italy. The museum contains over 36,000 artifacts, including a vast collection of armour from Eastern and Western civilizations. The museum was founded by Frederick Stibbert (1836 - 1906). His father was English and his mother Italian and he received his education in England. The Stibbert family's extreme wealth came from Frederick's grandfather, Giles Stibbert, who was the commander in chief for the British East India Company in Bengal at the end of the 18th Century and ruled as governor for many years. Frederick Stibbert inherited the entire estate from his grandfather and did not work for the rest of his life. Instead of working, Frederick Stibbert dedicated his life to collecting various objects, antiques, and artifacts and turned his villa into a museum. When the size of the collections outgrew the villa, Stibbert hired architect Giuseppe Poggi, painter Gaetano Bianchi and sculptor Passaglia to add on rooms. In 1906, when Stibbert died, his collection was given to the city of Florence and was opened to the public. The villa, which was once Stibbert's home, has 57 rooms that exhibit all of Stibbert's collections from around the world. Most of the walls are covered in leather and tapestries and the rooms are crowded with artifacts. Paintings are displayed throughout every room, including still lifes and portraits. There is also valuable furniture, porcelains, Tuscan crucifixes, Etruscan artifacts, and an outfit worn by Napoleon I of France. The most extensive collection is around 12,000 pieces of European, Oriental, Islamic, Japanese arms and armour from the 15th century through the 19th century. The Cavalcade room is a grand hall filled with 14 16th century knights on horseback and 14 foot-soldiers dressed in armour and holding weapons. The collection of Samurai armour contains over 80 suits and hundreds of swords.The museum also contains a cafe and a bookstore. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.museostibbert.it

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