Exhibition "Porcelain Workshop Museum"

About exhibition

On March 17, 2011, on the 161st birthday of Ivan Emelyanovich Kuznetsov, the founder of porcelain production in the Novgorod Governorate and the monopolist of porcelain production in Northwest Russia, this unique exhibition opened. This exhibition is an impression where the history of Novgorod porcelain intertwines with technology; multimedia "wonders" are combined with artist installations. The interior of the "Porcelain Workshop Museum" is designed in the form of a kiln and allows visitors to be transported into the atmosphere of a porcelain factory — fired brick, a sense of heat and flame, and nearby the gleaming porcelain pieces. The exhibition links the brilliant historical past of 'Kuznetsov' porcelain with the Soviet period — the production of items with cobalt glazing that became the trademark of the craftsmen of the Novgorod land. As part of the exhibition's preparation, the museum's collection was supplemented with 'Kuznetsov' porcelain items from the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The exhibition presents objects from four porcelain enterprises of the Novgorod region: the Volkhov Porcelain and Faience Factory ("Comintern"), the Bronnitsy Porcelain and Faience Factory ("Proletary"), the Gruzinskaya Porcelain and Faience Factory ("Krasny Farforist"), and ZAO "Vozrozhdenie". Among the products of these factories are both mass-produced items and truly remarkable works that astonish with their beauty and elegance.