Ceramic Collection

The ceramics collection accompanies the activities of the Castle Museum in Malbork from the beginning of its establishment in 1961. In the first year, it collected only specimens of porcelain from 19th-century Volhynia manufactories, and a year later it started to buy utility ceramics from Polish and European workshops and faience factories. In 2000, the collection was expanded to include specimens of German stoneware and ceramics from Dutch earthenware workshops from the 18th century. Currently, it has over 500 pieces of ceramic vessels of various types and purposes, dating from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. About 60% of the collection is made of porcelain items, of which a large set of dishes from Polish manufactories in Korets and Baranówka, which is the fourth largest Polish museum collection of this type, deserves special attention. 35% of the collection is filled with Polish faience, incl. from Gdańsk, Radlin, Jedlnia or Włocławek. The remaining part is made of European stoneware and faience, dominated by vessels from German (Ansbach, Bayreuth, Frankfurt am Main, Hanau, Nuremberg) and Dutch (mainly from Delft) manufactories. English faience is also sparse. A separate collection is made of stoneware vessels and animal art from the Royal Terracotta and Majolica Workshop in Kadyny on the Vistula Lagoon, founded by William II, Emperor of Germany, in his estates in Prussia.