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This page is about the Museum of Ceramics in Saronno. For other uses, see Museum of Ceramics (disambiguation).

Museum Giuseppe Gianetti

Museo della ceramica Giuseppe Gianetti
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Established	1994 (1994)
Location	Via Carcano, 9, 21047 Saronno, Varese, Lombardy, Italy
Coordinates	45°37′30.1″N 9°01′58.3″E
Type	Ceramics museum
Collections	Giuseppe Gianetti collection, Aldo Marcenaro collection, contemporary ceramics collection
Visitors	1370 (2022)
Director	Mara De Fanti
Public transit access	Trenord - Saronno railway station: (S1, S3, S9, Regionale R17, R22, R28)
Website	www.museogianetti.it

The Museum Giuseppe Gianetti is a ceramics museum located in Saronno, Italy. Its collection and central role in research make it one of the most important museums of its kind in Italy and Europe.

The museum’s collection includes different types of porcelain, majolica, and ceramics that belonged to industrialist Giuseppe Gianetti. The collection includes more than 200 pieces of Meissen porcelain, which represents the museum’s most substantial collection. Other collections include Oriental porcelain, Italian and European majolica, and porcelain. The collections were expanded to include the Aldo Marcenaro collection and the contemporary ceramics collection.  

Location

The Museum of Ceramics "Giuseppe Gianetti" is located at 9 Via Carcano in the downtown area of the city of Saronno, a town near Varese, in Lombardy.

History

Giuseppe Gianetti was born on January 29th 1887 and died on April 09th 1950 in Saronno. He was a collector of artistic objects, particularly ceramics. His collection of ceramics began in 1913 with objects from different origins in Europe and China. He had a collection of Meissen porcelain that he was particularly fond of. Throughout his life, he also acquired other artistic pieces such as sculptures, furniture and paintings.

The Museum

The museum Giuseppe Gianetti opened in 1994 in the centre of Saronno.

The villa where the museum is located, was built in the 1930s and the sisters of Nina Biffi , who was married to Guiseppe Gianetti, previously lived there.

The historical villa preserves its original flooring, parquet, marble features, staircases, window fixtures, furnishings, paintings, mirrors, Murano glass chandeliers, and bathrooms complete with their respective fittings, including the original light switches. The handrail adorning the staircase guiding to the Museum's second level is of particular note, meticulously fashioned according to a design conceptualized by Carla Biffi, one of Nina Biffi's siblings.

In 1936, the descendants of Giannetti, the proprietors of the edifice, resolved to bestow both the villa and its amassed collection to the COE Foundation in 1994. This act followed an extensive and meticulous classification of each artifact, enabling the establishment of the Museum.

COE Foundation

The COE Foundation, also known as the Center for Educational Guidance, was established in 1976 and is recognized as a “Worship and Religious Institution”. It operates under the guidance of evangelical principles, managing hospitality facilities and organizing cultural activities.

The art education initiatives of COE provide a blend of cultural, artistic, and environmental heritage experiences. These initiatives have been instrumental in establishing connections between schools and territories both within Italy and globally.

Furthermore, the COE Association is not only committed to conducting educational activities at its facilities in Italy, but it is also involved in international projects. These projects engage a diverse group of authors, insiders, schools, and cultural institutions.

Internal Organization

The museum is governed by the Board of Directors of the COE Foundation and the Artistic Committee. The Board of Directors, serving as the primary administrative body, is responsible for regular and special administration, institution management, and overseeing maintenance through an endowment fund supported by public and private contributions. The Board of Directors holds various powers, including approving the museum's direction, financial planning, budget adjustments, staff organizational structure, and has authority over rules, staff regulations, service fees, and donations.

The Artistic Committee is composed of seven members, which includes the Director, Conservator, and a representative from the Municipality of Saronno. This committee assists the Board by offering technical-scientific management proposals, suggesting strategies for conservation and promotion, proposing publications, and involving a scientific committee for specific activities when necessary.

The Director of a museum is required to possess specific training in the field. Their role involves overseeing the administrative and organizational aspects of the museum in accordance with the resolutions set forth by the Board of Directors. The museum director is tasked with implementing museum policies and overseeing the comprehensive management of the institution. This entails preserving, promoting, and cultivating public appreciation for the cultural heritage housed within the institution. Moreover, the Director takes on complete responsibility for formulating and implementing the cultural and scientific initiatives of the museum. This involves overseeing diverse aspects, such as overall administration, conservation efforts, promotional activities, and the cultivation of public engagement with the cultural heritage. Additionally, it encompasses associated scientific research endeavors. The Director functions as the guardian of the museum's identity and purpose, acting as the custodian of its collections and being accountable to the owner and/or custodian. Furthermore, the Director actively engages with the administration, citizens, and regulatory bodies, ensuring the protection and oversight of the museum's activities.

The museum Curator, responsible for overseeing the collection, is a highly specialized professional entrusted with preserving and managing collections. Their diverse tasks encompass inventorying, cataloguing, maintenance planning, conservation, restoration, research, and enhancing the collection. Working within museum guidelines, the curator collaborates with the director, ensuring the museum's identity and purpose, defining objectives, and serving as the scientific authority for entrusted collections. Duties include preservation, inventory management, proposing collection expansion, coordinating maintenance and restoration, directing technical staff, conducting scientific research, contributing to cultural and educational initiatives, designing exhibitions, and fostering connections with similar institutions. The curator remains current in their field, engages with institutional bodies, and, in the director's absence, assumes the role of custodian accountable to the owner or consignee.

The museum staff includes the Head of Education Services, a role that might be filled by a Conservative member, the Technical Safety Officer, and the Custodian, which could also be undertaken by the Technical Safety Officer. Additionally, the museum engages volunteers.

Collections

The museum's display is categorised into three distinct collections.

First Collection

The first and largest collection contains approximately 200 pieces of porcelain, produced from the 1720s to the early decades of the 18th century in Meissen, Germany.

Second Collection

The second collection contains various Italian, European, and Oriental porcelains. Emerge distinctively amongst the realm of Italian manufacturing, noteworthy ones include Hewelcke, Vezzi, Ginori, and Capodimonte. From Vienna, Ludwigsburg, Kloster Veilsdorf, Zurich, Saint Cloud, Chantilly, Mennecy, Vincennes-Sèvres, Tournai, and Chelsea, Sixty-five items showcasing European craftsmanship are accounted for. The Oriental section consists of 33 Chinese and Japanese pieces created by the East India Company specifically for the Western market.

Third Collection

The third section, dedicated to the 18th century Italian and European majolica, compromises the primary nucleus of approximately 230 Milanian pieces.

Aldo Marcenaro's Collection

In honor of its 20th anniversary since opening to the public, the Museum incorporated Aldo Marcenaro's artworks in its collection. Aldo Marcenaro (1931-2011) was a Professor at the San Martino Hospital of Genova and a collector specialized in ceramics from the eighteenth century. The foremost segment among the 24 artworks included originates from Meissen, Germany. Within this collection, there are also several pieces designed for tea and coffee, along with a dish embellished with Kakiemon decorative elements and European majolica.

Contemporary Ceramics Collection

Several Italian artists' works are showcased in the contemporary section, including those of F. Dusi, G. Spector and G. Robustelli.

Museum's Sections

The museum is partitioned into nine distinct sections, each designated to accommodate a specific collection. These sections are separated into five segments dedicated to the varied typologies and origins of porcelain (Oriental, Meissen, European, Italian, and contemporary), while the remaining four are devoted to the diverse classifications of Majolica (Milanese, Italian, European, and the Chamber of the Triton).

Room 1 - Oriental Porcelains

Oriental Porcelain

During the late 1800s, Europe experienced a widespread fascination with Japanese art and culture called Japonisme. This led to an increase in the popularity of Chinese and Japanese ceramics in affluent European homes and gatherings in cities like Milan, Genoa, and Venice. Gianetti also indulged in acquiring 18th century Oriental porcelain from both China and Japan, although his main interest remained in European ceramics. The room contains a collection of Chinese Qing and Japanese Edo artifacts, focusing on small sculptures. Despite the limited quantity, the collection includes a diverse array of works, ranging from Celadon to Blanc de Chine. It incorporates pieces from both the Green Family and the Rose Family, along with porcelain items from the "India Company."

Room 2 - Meissen Porcelains

In the Western world, porcelain production was discovered in Meissen near Dresden, Saxony, through the efforts of Johann Friedrich Böttgerand with the support of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony. The first European porcelain factory was established in Meissen in 1710. The manufacturing method remained a secret until 1719 when it was acquired and spread across Europe.

*1 image of Meissen Porcelain.*

Room 3 and Room 4 - European and Italian Porcelains

During the 18th century, the technique for making hard-paste porcelain spread across Europe as skilled workers left Meissen, carrying secret methods, and chemists found kaolin-rich clays elsewhere. Various factories arose under different European courts, evolving as entrepreneurs established factories driven by industrial goals.

In Italy, the absence of pure kaolin quarries prevents the country's porcelain from matching the material quality of German or French counterparts, although Italian porcelain holds its own in terms of artistic merit. The best Italian kaolin quarry is situated in Veneto, near Vicenza, leading to a concentration of porcelain manufacturing in that region, including Venice, Nove, Este, and Treviso.

*1 image for European.*

*1 image for Italian.*

Room 5, Room 6 and Room 7 - Italian and European Maiolica

In the 18th century, fine majolica production thrived across multiple Italian regions. Notably, centers like Ferniani in Faenza, Clerici in Milan, Rubati in Turin, Finck in Bologna, Casali and Callegari in Pesaro, Roletti in Urbino, Fuina in Castelli, Cialli in Rome, and Barone Malvica's workshop in Palermo marked this era. Even major porcelain factories like Ginori and Cozzi had adjoining workshops for majolica. These workshops exchanged design ideas, leading to shared decorative patterns.

These workshops exchanged design ideas, leading to shared decorative patterns. For instance, motifs like "blanser" from Novese origins appeared in Bologna and Urbino majolica. Similarly, motifs like "fruit decorations," perhaps influenced by Lombardian models, appeared in Milan and Nove. The French-inspired "Berain-style" decorations, albeit with variations, were also seen in majolica from various origins.

*1 image of Italian.*

*1 image of European.*

*1 image of Milanese.*

Room 8 - Contemporary Porcelains

Since the inception of the "Artemondo Gallery", the Museum has graciously assembled a collection of contemporary ceramics, endeavoring to cultivate scholarly exploration and meaningful discourse in conjunction with the esteemed masterpieces from its 18th-century collection.

Room 9 - Chamber of Triton

The first-floor bathroom, in which we can see the original bathroom fixture even now, presents a modest yet luminous space bedecked with large yellow-Siena-marble slabs on the walls, while the floor brags the exquisite black African marble. Above, the barrel-vaulted ceiling is adorned with stucco craftsmanship depicting the majestic presence of a Triton. The bathtub, still featuring its original taps, was installed within a niche under a recessed glass ceiling light embellished with decorations inspired by marine themes.

Exhibitions and collection

All the works listed below belong to the permanent collection of the museum.

Work name	Age	Material	Style
"Figura di Guanyin"	1662 - 1722	Porcelain	Japonisme
"La vendita dello schiavo moro"	1770	Hard porcelain painted in polychrome	Enlightenment
"Uomo orientale con alto turbante"	1760 - 80	Hard porcelain painted in polychrome and gilded	Recueil Ferriol
"Contenitore a forma di pernice"	1756 - 1790	Majolica	Trompe-l'œil
"Portaorologio con veste gialla"	1770 - 76	Painted porcelain	Imari
"Arlecchino gioca con un uccello e un gatto"	1743 - 1760	Hard porcelain painted in polychrome and gold	Rococo

"Figura di Guanyin"

In Europe, from the end of the nineteenth century, the Japonisme trend exploded, captivated by the discovery of Japanese art that awakened new interests in the entire East. In no affluent salon in Milan, Genoa, or Venice were Chinese or Japanese ceramics missing. The Guanyin is a refined example of those small white porcelain sculptures produced between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in the Chinese Dehua region. In Europe, where it encountered extraordinary success, it was called 'Blanc de Chine.' It depicts the divine figure of Buddhist origin, seated in the sacred mudra position: the regal repose.

"La vendita dello schiavo moro"

This group, known as "The Human Trafficking," in the inventory of the manufacture, belongs to the plastic production of the finest Swiss porcelain factory led by Adam Spengler from 1763 to 1790. Spengler was a skillful interpreter of the Enlightenment taste that propelled the European avant-garde. He conceived nearly 400 models of small sculptures, among which this one stands out as one of the most unique and rare.

"Uomo orientale con alto turbante"

In the production of the Doccia porcelain factory, founded by Marquis Carlo Ginori in 1741, plastic production played a significant role. This sculpture belongs to a series derived from the set of engravings known as "Recueil Ferriol," depicting oriental costumes. As our collection attests, this theme was revisited multiple times, as evidenced by the variations in the bases.

"Contenitore a forma di pernice"

The trompe-l'œil ceramics enjoyed tremendous success in all European manufactories during the eighteenth century. Lage cabbages, pumpkins, lemons, artichokes, bunches of asparagus alongside turkeys, hens, and partridges were used to adorn festive tables. Among the most skilled producers of fine "deceptive" maiolica, the two factories in Milan undoubtedly stand out, as exemplified by the pieces in this collection.

"Portaorologio con veste gialla"

The two manufactories of Milan of the eighteenth century produced various decorative motifs painted in a trichrome palette (deep blue in grand feu, and red and gold in petit feu), typical of the production known as "Chinese Imari." This term refers to a Chinese serial production inspired by Japanese ornamental formulas. The "ostrich" and "casotto" (known as "carabiniere") patterns are among the most renowned of these decorative styles.

"Arlecchino gioca con un uccello e un gatto"

One of the most celebrated figures in the history of European porcelain is undoubtedly Johann Joachim Kändler, the chief modeler of the Meissen manufactory from 1733 to 1775. A highly skilled sculptor in the Rococo style, he revolutionized small-scale porcelain sculpture in Europe, infusing new vitality into the figures and collaborating with other artistic talents, such as Johann Friedrich Eberlein, the creator of this particular model.

Library

The consultation of books in the library is possible only by reservation. Giuseppe Gianetti's book collection encompasses approximately a thousand texts related to art. The collection compises of works on:

• Ancient and contemporary Italian ceramics
• European ceramics
• International ceramics
• Decorative arts like goldsmith, weaving, wooden sculpture, glass
• Prints
• Design texts
• Art history catalogues and essays
• Nineteenth and twentieth centuries books
• Catalogues of auctions and antique exhibitions
• Pantries
• Trade journals

Ceramics Festival

From June 23rd to June 25th 2023, the third edition of the Ceramics Festival took place in Saronno and the museum organized the event with the assistance of the municipality of Saronno and Faenza, the Lombardy Region, the Province of Varese, AICC(Associazione Italiana Città della Ceramica). A three-day initiative focusing exclusively on high-quality ceramics with the goal of promoting awareness about the significance of this material and showcasing national excellence.

The keyword of this edition was "Fragile". The approaches towards a fragile subject/object can vary, from care and conservation to restoration. However, mishandling any of these actions may result in fractures or breakage. Artistic heritage itself follows this logic: if properly tended to, these treasures continue to recount their stories and history.

Several exhibitions and installations have been organized in the city, particulary in the streets of the historic center, with the participation of national and international artists. Workshops on clay manipulation, engobe decoration, ceramic painting, demonstrations on the potter's wheel, raku firing and dripping time workshop were organized within the museum.

See also

• Ceramic art – Decorative objects made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery
• List of museums in Italy

External links

• Official website

Category:Museums in Italy Category:Art museums and galleries in Italy Category:Ceramics museums Category:Historic house museums in Italy