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Other London Collections: Croydon Museum

Croydon Museum

Photograph of ceramic horse
Chinese Tang dynasty glazed earthenware camel, made between c 700 and 750 CE to be buried in a tomb.
The Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics was donated to the people of Croydon by local businessman Raymond Riesco. The whole collection is on permanent display in the Riesco Gallery at Croydon Clocktower and numbers some 230 objects, dating from pre-Tang to the Qing dynasty (2500 BC to the 18th century CE). It includes c 180 porcelain items, c 30 pieces of Chinese stoneware and c 20 pieces of earthenware. The collection consists mostly of vessels and figures of the highest quality and in Chinese taste rather than export wares. It includes blue and white porcelain, famille verte, famille rose, Chinese Imari and celadon.

There are regular temporary exhibitions in the Riesco gallery on the themes of ceramics and Chinese culture, many of which showcase outreach, community and education projects that have been inspired by the collection.

The museum also holds pottery and glass from late 19th- and 20th-century excavations on the site of Croydon Saxon cemetery, including ceramic cremation urns and two substantially complete fine glass vessels. The archaeological finds are mostly housed in the museum store alongside a small collection of excavated Roman sherds and other objects, and some individual items made as stray finds or donated as gifts. In addition, there are c 20 19th- and 20th-century glass and ceramic items on display in the Museum of Croydon.

Highlights of the collection:

Address: Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, Croydon CR9 1ET

Tel: 020 8253 1022; Fax: 0208253 1003

Email: museum@croydon.gov.uk

Website: http://www.museumofcroydon.com

Opening times: Monday to Saturday, 10:30am to 5:00pm.

Admission: Charge for most temporary exhibitions; free entry to the Museum of Croydon and the Riesco Gallery.

Access: Full access for disabled visitors; toilets for disabled visitors; baby changing room; lecture theatre; refreshments; education service.

Publications:
Bluett, E, 1951, The Riesco Collection of old Chinese pottery and porcelain
Griffith, F L L, 1897, 'On some Roman and Saxon remains found at Croydon in 1893-94', Surrey Archaeological Collections 13, 18-25
Shaw, M, 1970, 'A re-assessment of the material from the pagan Saxon cemeteries in Croydon', Proceedings of the Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society 14 (part 5), 95-113
Woolfenden, A, 1987, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, London Borough of Croydon

Links to Museum of London Ceramics and Glass website:

Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED Tel: +44 (0)20 7490 8447 E-mail: ceramics@museumoflondon.org.uk

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