Hetjens - Deutsches Keramikmuseum

In Düsseldorf the Hetjens – German Ceramic Museum presents the history of ceramics from a global perspective; the institution was founded on 9 May 1909. Its collection contains objects from all world regions and pieces up to 8,000 years old, making the institute one of the most comprehensive of its kind; exhibits are regularly loaned nationally and internationally. The museum is named after the collector Laurenz Heinrich Hetjens (1830–1906), whose estate formed the nucleus of the collection. Hetjens, formerly an upholsterer and saddler journeyman and later technical director of a glass manufactory, collected mainly Rhenish stoneware from the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods, took part in excavations and developed into a recognized specialist. In his will he provided funds for the construction of a museum to bear his name; this was carried out in 1907/1908 at the northern end of the then Art Exhibition Palace. With the founding of the Municipal Art Collections in 1913 and the dissolution of the Museum of Applied Arts during the GeSoLei plans in 1926, further ceramic holdings were transferred to the Hetjens. Because of lack of space the museum moved in 1969 to the Palais Nesselrode in the Carlstadt; in 1994 an extension building was opened for the 85th anniversary, which also houses the Düsseldorf Film Museum. Today the Hetjens has 8,500 m² of exhibition space. The original Rhenish stoneware collection was expanded over the course of the 20th century by purchases and donations into a global holdings group. The permanent exhibition ranges from prehistoric vessels to contemporary ceramics. Collection focal points are ancient and pre-Columbian ceramics, rare stoneware vessels, Islamic ceramics, faience and majolica, contemporary artist ceramics, as well as an extensive porcelain collection. In 2018 the Asia department was redesigned; as an eye-catcher a reconstructed Islamic ceramic cupola from Pakistan was installed in the museum space. In addition, the Hetjens manages the Ernst Schneider collection at Jägerhof Palace. A friends’ association founded in 1958 promotes acquisitions, scholarly cataloguing and public relations. The collector Günter Lontzen (1929–2007) bequeathed his collection of modern ceramics to the museum; with funds from the foundation named after him, around 80 works by international contemporary artists were acquired from 2009 onward and were shown until February 2016 in the exhibition “Contemporary Ceramics from Fontana to Uecker.”

Lockers

vorhanden

Loan Rollers & Rollers

vorhanden

Publicly accessible library / archive / study rooms

nur nach Terminvereinbarung

Museumsshop

vorhanden

Access with ramp

Yes

Access stairless

Yes

Elevator with tactile font / announcement

No

Disabled toilet

Yes