In accordance with the announcement by the provincial government, the Gardiner Museum has closed temporarily. The health and safety of our visitors, staff, and the wider community remains our top priority. We'll continue to provide you with engaging digital content to keep us connected while the galleries are closed.
During our temporary closure, we're posting exhibitions and selections from our collection online. Discover Inuit ceramics, Chinese and Japanese porcelain, pottery from the Ancient Americas, and more!
On Thursday April 29 at 1 pm, join us for a free online lecture with Professor Alison McQueen, who will discuss the significant contributions of women working at Sèvres in the first century of its history. The presentation will feature works from leading international porcelain collections and bring attention to the often-overlooked roles of women retouching glaze, laying down prints, and burnishing. Register now!
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
With the Museum closed temporarily, we need your support to continue to offer innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects online, as well as plan for the future. Please consider making a donation to help us build community with clay.
The Gardiner’s collection of ceramics for the Canadian market includes pottery made in Canada in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with a focus on Ontario and Quebec, and tableware made in England for export to various parts of the British Empire.
The group of tableware made for export to the Canadian market consists of transfer-printed earthenware with Canadian imagery made in the second half of the nineteenth century in the potteries of Staffordshire, England. Presenting arctic scenery, topographical views, and representations of Canadian sports among other themes, these products contributed to the development of a romantic image of Canada, and the dissemination of themes of nationhood and identity.
This collection was greatly enhanced by a gift from Barbara and James Moscovich.
1. Cake Plate with Arctic Landscape (detail), England, Manufacturer Unknown, c.1840, The Barbara and James Moscovich Collection of Canadian Historical China, G13.15.44
2. Cake Plate with Arctic Landscape (detail), England, Manufacturer Unknown, c.1840, The Barbara and James Moscovich Collection of Canadian Historical China, G13.15.44
3. Dessert Plate from the Milton Service, "Our Night Camp on Eagle River - Expecting the Crees" (detail), England, Stoke-On-Trent, Minton, c.1967, Purchased with a Gift from N. Robert Cumming, G04.20.1