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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