Since 1973, the Porcelain Museum, which is a section
of the Silver Museum, is located in the "Casino
del Cavaliere", built in the 17th century at the
top of the hill that overlooks the Gardens of Boboli,
which was chosen as a retreat for the Grand Duke.
The homogeneous collections comprises mainly porcelain
tableware belonging to the royal families that ruled
Tuscany (Medici, Lorraine, Savoy), thus clearly
reflecting their tastes.
The
collection is divided by periods, nations and manufacturers.
There are several outstanding examples of Italian
porcelain objects produced in Doccia (near Florence),
which were especially used by the Grand ducal family
for large services of daily use, and at the Royal
Manufactory of Naples.
Foreign objects include fine table sets from Vienna
and from the German Manufactory of Meissen, in addition
to French porcelain from Vincennes and Sèvres,
brought to the Pitti Palace by the Savoy House from
the royal palace of Parma. The Grand Duchess of
Parma, Luisa Elisabetta, was in fact the daughter
of Luis XV. Some of the objects are also gifts from
Napoleon to his sister Elisa Baciocchi, Grand Duchess
of Tuscany from 1809 to 1814.
The oldest pieces of the collections are those that
once belonged to Gian Gastone, the last Medici Grand
Duke (1671-1737) produced in the Manufactory of
Meissen.
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