Grey-blue sheen, incised patterns, solid shapes: Westerwald stoneware was once a global export hit - beautiful, useful or curious. The exhibition at sam - Stadtmuseum am Markt brings hidden objects from the depot to light and shows how clay became culture.

The so-called "Kannenbäckerland" in the Westerwald is one of the oldest production centers in Europe. Since the Middle Ages, craftsmen have been shaping jugs, jars, figurines and storage jars here - many of them for everyday use, some as artistically designed one-off pieces. In the region around Wiesbaden, stoneware shaped the economy, customs and the image of home.

Some of its qualities made Westerwald stoneware unique for a long time: high breaking strength, dimensionally stable cooling - perfect conditions for mineral water bottles and lard pots, as they are still known today.

Historic stoneware meets poetic imagery:
In the exhibition, the pieces enter into a dialogue with photographs by Eckart Bartnik, who shows the region's clay pits as colorful, almost surreal-looking landscapes.

A varied accompanying program invites visitors to rediscover the material, history and creative power - especially for children of primary school age.

The special exhibition will open on September 30, 2025 at 7 pm. The previously announced date of September 23 is no longer valid.

The exhibition will be on display at sam - Stadtmuseum am Markt from October 1, 2025 to March 1, 2026.

Further information will follow.