Collection of porcelain in Ostrov
At the beginning of the 20th century there were about 198 active porcelain factories and paint shops in the Podkrušnohoří region. Today there are only about 6-7 porcelain factories. At the time of the First Republic, the Ostrov porcelain factory was one of the most successful porcelain factories in the region, alongside the Haas & Czjzek porcelain factory in Horní Slavkov, which was one of the oldest porcelain factories in the Czech Kingdom (founded in 1792), the Pirken-Hammer Březová porcelain factory near Karlov y Vary (founded in 1803) and the porcelain factory in Loket (founded in 1815). Today, none of these porcelain factories produces white shards anymore; all of them ceased production at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The origin of the collection
Ostrov porcelain began to be collected for the town of Ostrov in the 1990s by the Friends of Ostrov. The initiator was the chairwoman of the association, Zdenka Čepeláková, who has been working on the history of Ostrov porcelain for more than 30 years.
Scope of the collection
Today’s collection contains more than 700 items recorded in 220 items. It is the most comprehensive collection of island porcelain in the Czech Republic. The collection is not closed, and continues to grow through donations and purchases.
The importance of the collection
One of the rarest pieces in the collection is the CALAIS service made of thin-walled Chinese porcelain, which won an award in Paris in 1925. The same type of service was also fitted to the salon car of President Thomas G. Masaryk. The service was delivered to Prague on 7 March 1930. Each piece of service is accompanied by a small emblem of the Czechoslovakia. The torso of the set of island porcelain from the salon car of President T. G. Masaryk, including the car itself, is in the possession of ČD.
In order to preserve the collection of historical island porcelain for future generations, a thorough documentation of the collection has been initiated and will soon be entered into the Central Register of Collections of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. This will preserve this example of production for future generations of porcelain history lovers, professionals and anyone else interested in this fragile commodity.
