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[December 2004]
Barcelona Hosts Major Ceramic Exhibition
'Between East and West - Oriental, North African and European Ceramics' is a major exhibition which has just opened in Barcelona's Museu de Ceramica and which is set to run there until 3 April 2005.
The trading relations between the East and West and the technological advances that took place from the time of the early Middle Ages through to the 19th century form the historical context in which the foreign ceramic objects in the Museu de Ceramica are being presented to the public for the first time.
The works, divided into five different sections, bear witness to the existing cultural exchanges, in each period, between the Arab, Oriental and European worlds.
'Reflections of Islam' presents the characteristics of Islamic art - the axis of symmetry, radial structure, concentric borders and decorative adornment - that were to survive in Spanish ceramics until the 17th century.
'The Exoticism of Chinese Porcelain' reveals the ornamental richness of oriental porcelain, the hardest and most translucent of materials with a pure white colour, qualities highly prized by the Europeans.
'The Impact of Oriental Porcelain' can be seen in the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Italian, German and Spanish pieces made by European potters who were trying to copy the products imported by the East India Companies.
'The Success of European prints' is reflected not only in the typology of European ceramics, but also in its iconography. At the same time, Chinese potters used European prints as models for their porcelain.
'The Charm of Popular Taste' and the predominance of simple, traditional shapes constitute a tendency that gained in importance during the second half of the 18th century, not only in rural areas but also in urban centres.
www.museuceramica.bcn.es
ENDS