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The Princessehof is the only Dutch museum specializing in ceramics. Besides its collection of Asian ceramics, the museum also has collections of European ceramics, Persian- and pre-Colombian earthenware and the worlds largest collection of ceramic tiles. The collection of Asian ceramics is one of the most comprehensive in the Netherlands. The term ceramics here denotes earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The Leeuwarden notary Nanne Ottema (1874-1955) established the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof. His collection, together with those of Anne Tjibbes van der Meulen and Reinier Verbeek, form a sizable collection of Asian art. Most objects are from China, but there are also important sub-collections of Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai ceramics. When Nanne Ottema died in 1955, the Ottema-Kingma Foundation became the formal owner of almost the entire Asian collection in the Princessehof. The Foundation has loaned the collection to the museum on a long-term basis and also makes incidental purchases. A chronological overview of the approximately 5000-year-old ceramic history of China is provided on the first floor of the museum complex. Some display cases are organized to illuminate a specific theme. The collection of Japanese porcelain and the other Asian sub-collections are displayed in a separate room. A completely new development is the open depot, where ceramics that are not displayed in the halls are displayed. This depot will serve as a source of information in the area of Asian ceramics for groups of students and other interested parties.
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