This study day organized by the Royal Museum of Mariemont examines the use of decoration as a narrative in ceramics. For thousands of years, ceramics have been designed not only as useful objects but also as a support for conveying a particular narrative or message.

The study day falls within a particular context. Three exceptional works in Tournai porcelain have recently joined the collections of the Royal Museum of Mariemont: two trays, acquired by the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché Fund, managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, and a teapot, acquired by the Foundation thanks to the Donald Germain bequest. The teapot forms an ensemble with a tray already in the museum’s collection and, thanks to the Donald Germain bequest, the two pieces have now been reunited.

The historiated decoration of these works will be commented upon during the Springtime Ceramics Day. One of the Courtin-Bouché Fund trays shows an interior scene in which a nursing mother receives visitors. The teapot, on the other hand, represents a battle scene.

Information and reservation with the Museum’s Communication Department:
tel. (0)64 27 37 44 or (0)64 27 37 58, or via e-mail at [email protected]