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Gray, blue, scratched - Westerwald stoneware from the Nassau Antiquities Collection

From October 1, 2025 to March 1, 2026, the Stadtmuseum will be presenting a new special exhibition.

A crocodile made of stoneware
Ceramic ink pot in the shape of a crocodile

Gray, blue, scratched - Westerwald stoneware from the Nassau Antiquities Collection

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. Craftsmen have been shaping jugs, jars, figurines and storage vessels here since the Middle Ages - much of it for everyday use, some of it as artistically designed individual 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.

Changed opening date

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 The previously announced date of September 23 is no longer valid.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.

Stoneware holy water font
Holy water container, second half of the 18th century.

Admission to the special exhibition and accompanying brochure

Admission to the special exhibition is six euros and four euros concessions.

A brochure will be published to accompany the exhibition, which can be purchased at sam or ordered by email from October 2025.

Accompanying program

sam - City museum on the market

sam - Stadtmuseum am MarktStiftung Stadtmuseum Wiesbaden

Opening hours

Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Administration

Wiesbaden City Museum Foundation

Bierstadt Street 1

65189 Wiesbaden

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Explanations and notes

Picture credits