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Terracotta Pottery Museum

La Bisbal d’Empordà

The Terracotta Museum is housed in an old ceramics factory. Aerial view of the machinery. Photo by Joan Guitart.

The Terracotta Museum is housed in an old ceramics factory. Aerial view of the machinery. Photo by Joan Guitart.

Pottery has been, and still is, the most important activity carried out in La Bisbal d’Empordà. The pottery industry created one of the main economic engines of the city, and provided (and still provides) work to a significant percentage of the local population. This activity has a tradition that stretches back over several centuries; the first documented account of pottery in La Bisbal is a notation from 1511. From the beginning, this industry has created an important cultural heritage over the years.

The museum aims to preserve, conserve and display this material and the cultural heritage linked to Bisbal pottery, as well as proposing an interpretation of the socio-economic system created by the industry; a social model that has historically led to a specific cultural patterns. The museum aims to show visitors the unique industrialisation process that resulted from the industry. In this sense, the Terracotta Museum represents the pottery industry in La Bisbal d'Empordà and the Girona region; the museum is, without a doubt, the most important cultural heritage of the town.

 

SPACES

<p>Vacamorta clay pit (Cru&iuml;lles). Photo by Josep M. Fonalleras. Terracotta Museum image bank.</p>
Ceramics
Ceramics
<p>Pottery stall, La Rambla, Figueres, 1888-1889. Author: Josep Maria Ca&ntilde;ellas. Rubaudonadeu Album - Fages de Climent Library.</p>
Pre-industrial ceramics: tiles and pottery
Pre-industrial ceramics: tiles and pottery
<p>La Gabarra Factory in 1916. Next to the entrance to the warehouse is a lever press. Photo: Unknown author. Terracotta Museum image bank.</p>
Industrial ceramics
Industrial ceramics
<p>Sebasti&agrave; Padr&oacute;s i Cortada, modernist artist from Bisbal, 1922. Image bank at the Historical Archive of Girona.</p>
The artists
The artists

OBJECTS

<p>The clay has been traditionally categorised depending on the predominant colour: red (reddish-brown, highly plastic and fat) and white (sandy, hard and lean).&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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The clay
The clay
<p>Pot to cook food.&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Pot
Pot
<p>Wine jug. Inscription: <em>Joseph Vicens tarricer / me fesit a dia 29 de / mars del any 1749</em>. (Joseph Vicens Tarricer / made on 29 / March 1749).&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Wine jug
Wine jug
<p>Fan tile. Tile decorated with a series of lines which converge at one point, creating a fan shape.&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Fan tile
Fan tile
<p>Tile cutter, used to shape the clay and model it using a metal mould at the end of the machine.&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Tile cutter
Tile cutter
<p>Train loaded with tiles at La Bisbal station. Author: Emili Casas. Regional Archives of Baix Empord&agrave; (Arxiu Comarcal del Baix Empord&agrave;).&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Train loaded with tiles
Train loaded with tiles
<p>Modernist jug. Inscription: DEDICATED TO THE LOVELY MISS ASSUMPCI&Oacute; PARICIO / A SOUVENIR OF HER ARTISTIC VISIT TO THE TOWN / J.CARRE / M. MASSOT / LA BISBAL, APRIL 1904.&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Modernist jug
Modernist jug
<p>Eusebi D&iacute;az Costa checking the firing of some decorative pottery.&nbsp;Terracotta Pottery Museum. La Bisbal d&rsquo;Empord&agrave;.</p>

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Firing of pottery
Firing of pottery

INFORMATION

ADDRESS
FEES
TELEPHONE
WEBSITE
http://www.terracottamuseu.cat/
OPENING TIMES
EMAIL
terracottamuseu@labisbal.cat

MAP

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