‘National’ Status Bid for Stoke-on-Trent's Potteries Museum.
16 Jun 2010
Stoke-on-Trent City Councillors are to be asked to support an application which would see the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and its collections of ceramics gain national accreditation.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s cabinet will this month (23 June) be recommended to support the application which is to be made to the national Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
The authority runs four museums which are all fully accredited by the MLA. And the quality and significance of all the museums’ collections – including local and social history, natural history, fine art and archaeology – are ‘designated’ by the MLA for their national and international importance. The application focuses on the ceramics at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and looks at the work the museum does to develop and provide access to the collections for study and research, as it does the prestigious collections themselves.
Councillor Hazel Lyth, cabinet member for adult social care, sport, leisure and culture, said:
“Our pottery collections are amongst the finest in the world – we hold the most comprehensive collection of British ceramics, particularly Staffordshire ware, in the world. We provide study space for visiting researchers as well as an enquiry service on ceramics whereby anyone can call at specified times for expert advice and information. The Potteries Museum also plays a lead role on the museums national subject specialist network, and its staff are widely acknowledged as experts in their field.
“National status would give the recognition that these fabulous collections deserve and would raise the profile of the city internationally. It would increase opportunities for partnership working with prestigious institutions both in the UK and overseas, and increase the potential to attract external funding. We’re currently seeking expressions of support from other museums up and down the country and from our colleagues in the ceramics industry.”
Ceramics collections are held primarily at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, with smaller specialist collections at Gladstone Pottery Museum.
The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery has significant holdings of ceramics from Europe, Asia, North Africa and South America. It has over 500 pieces of 18th century salt-glazed stoneware and has the most comprehensive holdings of 20th century industrial and studio pottery in the world.
Gladstone Pottery Museum is one of the few surviving Victorian potteries still functioning and has collections of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware.
With cabinet’s approval, the application for national status would be made to the MLA by the end of June. If successful, it would mean that the museums would be able to use the term ‘national’ in their title, in describing the collections and in strap lines associated with the museums.
The council is also looking at ways to work with Wedgwood and the Victoria and Albert Museum to promote ceramics collections.
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