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The Princessehof, in Leeuwarden, is the National Museum of Ceramics in the Netherlands. It has a large collection of ceramics from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, from mass-produced utilitarian objects to large contemporary sculptures, and from a world-famous brush bowl from the imperial Ru kilns to an extensive collection of Dutch art nouveau ceramics. More than any other medium, ceramics is of all times and of everyone. Ceramic objects mirror the culture and time from which they originate. The permanent exhibition therefore tells a story of global production, trade, ties, and inspiration. For instance, it maps out the path that tin glaze took from the Middle East, which helped to produce the “typically Dutch” product of Delftware – as a response to the hugely popular Asian porcelain. The museum is located in the city palace where Maria Louise van Hessen-Kassel, the widow of Stadholder Johan Willem Friso van Nassau, lived from 1731 until her death in 1765. The museum therefore includes a room dedicated to the princess and this influential period in Frisian Nassau history.
Laura Smeets, Curator European Ceramics (April 2023)