The Museum’s holdings in international ceramics (approx. 1,800 works) have increased dramatically in recent years and contain major pieces by Hans Coper, Otto and Gertrude Natzler, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Lucie Rie and Beatrice Wood, as well as strong representations of contemporary Japanese studio pottery.

Early Meissen Porcelain
Through a gift from The Ronald and Kathleen Gillmeister Trust, the Crocker is now home to one of the most comprehensive collections of early Meissen tableware in the world.

This collection, which entered the Museum recently, features the best of 18th-century production from the time the Meissen factory was founded in 1709. With the new installation, the Museum is now able to trace the early history of form and decoration in this, the first European true porcelain. The delicately sculpted and decorated plates, bowls, chargers, cups, saucers, teapots and caddies, coffee pots and vases collected assiduously by the Gillmeisters include nearly every pattern produced by the Meissen Royal Manufactory until 1800. Such a comprehensive display makes the Crocker a major center for the study of European porcelain.

The Meissen collection is on view on the Main Floor of the Museum in White Gold: The Kathy and Ronald Gillmeister Collection of Early Meissen Porcelain. Click here for Meissen collection highlights.