Address: Giardino di Boboli, "Casino del Cavaliere"
Until a few years ago the Porcelain Museum was a section of
the
Museo degli Argenti and was
situated in the mezzanine of the
Pitti Palace. In 1973 with the total rearrangement of this
complex the collection was transferred to the "Casino del
Cavaliere" at the top of the Boboli Gardens' slopes. Built
in the eightenth century as a retreat for the Grand Duke, the
Casino has proved a particularly ideal setting for the
conservation and display of a unified collection.
The collection consists mainly of table porcelain used by the
Grand Ducal and Royal Houses of the Medici, Lorraine and Savoy.
In its present setting the collection is divided by nation,
manufactory and last of all chronologically. Italian and French
porcelain follow the porcelain of Vienna and the porcelain of
Meissen. The manufactory of Capodimonte is not represented but
there are notable examples from Naples; figures of Neapolitan
women in costume, dinner services and a series in biscuit. The
grand dukes made use of the local Florentine manufactory of
Doccia for their large services in daily use, which are well
represented in the museum. The collection of French porcelain
from Vincennes and Sevres is also important. This was brought to
the Pitti by members of the House of Savoy from the Royal Palace
at Parma; the Duchess of Parma, Luisa Elisabetta, was Louis XV's
niece. Some pieces were also gifts from Napoleon I to his sister
Elisa Baciocchi who was Duchess of Tuscany from 1809-1814. The
earliest examples in the collection are the exquisite Meissen
products which belonged to the last Medici Grand Duke Gian
Gastone, and which are the only ones surviving from his rich
collection.
