Princessehof Ceramics Museum
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace built in 1693 and later occupied by Marie Louise, dowager Princess of Orange. The other annexed building is the Papinga stins, a former stronghold from the 15th century. The museum buildings are of interest, and so are its collection of tiles, pottery, and ceramic sculpture.
On Monday morning, 13 Feb 2023, someone broke into the museum and stole eleven "precious Chinese ceramics". Seven of the pieces were destroyed as the thieves made their escape, but four others are unaccounted for. The heist came less than two weeks after a failed break-in attempt at the museum.
History of the building
In 1731, the building was purchased by Marie Louise, who had been a widow since 1711 and acted as regent for her son William IV up to that year, when he came of age. She moved in and began a collection of ceramics, and her collection forms part of the museum's collection, most notably in the Nassaukamer, a period dining room in Baroque style. After she died, the building was split into three houses, and one of these later came into the hands of the Leeuwarden notary and art collectors Nanne Ottema and his wife Grietje Kingma, who founded the museum during their lifetime in 1917.The Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints, was born in the middle house in 1898.