Exhibition "The Porcelain House"

Step inside the PORCELAIN HOUSE!

The exhibition recounts the bustling activity of a Brussels porcelain factory that spanned our country’s history without interruption from 1830 to 2020.

From the shop window to behind the scenes, it highlights the life journeys of everyone involved: artisans, workers, sales personnel, directors and customers… each of whom, in their own way, accompanied and shaped these two centuries.

In this adventure filled with (r)evolutions, each porcelain piece embodies the shifting trends, customs and major societal changes of its time. From the home to public spaces, royal commissions to mass production and the emergence of new artistic styles, the pieces are astonishingly diverse in form and function.

Porcelain isn’t always what you might think. Wander through The Porcelain House and discover a story that is at once industrial, social and profoundly human.

 Watch the trailer (in French)

 An extension of the exhibition: Collections and Contemporary Art

Three thematic sections extend the exploration of the exhibition’s second floor, creating a dialogue between historic collection pieces and contemporary art. On Level -1, visitors will find:

• tableware sets evoking the art of living at the Château des Warocqué,
• an “aviary”-style installation displayed in the majestic Art Nouveau display case from the Brussels store, opposite the iconic “Oiseaux de Buffon” tableware set. The display case features plates decorated with birds, on loan from Chantal and Françoise Demeuldre Coché; two bird statuettes—one in 19th-century Saxon porcelain and the other in 18th-century Tournai porcelain; and a contemporary piece.
• and works by contemporary artisans resulting from a partnership with the Office des Métiers d’Art of the Province of Hainaut. Forty-four projects (comprising some seventy pieces) are presented in the form of jewelry, ceramics, woven textiles, contemporary lace, bookbinding, textile design, and stained glass.

This exploration of creativity serves as a contemporary echo of the history of the Ixelles II factory. The themes of artisans’ guilds, social upheavals, the adaptation of working methods, and the diversification of production are common to both. While mechanization is the norm for most items on the market, the manual techniques of arts and crafts have not disappeared. Arts and crafts are still very much alive and a source of creativity, bearing witness to the transmission of knowledge and the capacity for innovation. The works on display were all created by artisans from Hainaut. The 26 selected artists drew inspiration from the themes and values featured in the exhibition: the union of form and function, the birth of design, major artistic movements (Empire style, Japonism, Art Nouveau), and nature.

 Around the Exhibition

Characters and Audio Guide

To bring the exhibition to life, two tour resources are available free of charge. First, written labels recount the stories of six individuals through their personal histories, experiences, and connections to porcelain. Second, an audio guide brings three other figures to life, giving them a voice as they share their experiences, daily lives, and stories set within or connected to the Ixelles II porcelain factory.

The text panels in three languages are integrated into the exhibition’s narrative. The audio guide (in french) is available for free by scanning the QR codes throughout the exhibition or via this link

Interactive Tour

Two activities are offered at the heart of the exhibition to help visitors become familiar with certain techniques, methods, and craftsmanship involved in porcelain making.

The first open workshop focuses on the stencil technique to create a natural design—inspired by the painted and printed designs in the studio—in several forms and stages.

The second drop-in workshop focuses on the “poncif” or pricked-line drawing technique. Influenced by the variety of existing versions of the “Daphne” sculpture, it invites participants to conceive and create their own version of the work.

A third activity explores individual memories and the collective vocabulary surrounding porcelain. A space divided into five categories—fragility, tableware, family heritage, decoration, and collecting—allows everyone to share a memory related to porcelain—before, during, or after the exhibition—and thus contribute their own personal story to “The Porcelain House.”

Family Tour

The cultural outreach department offers a special tour designed for families (children ages 6 and up). This tour, which runs parallel to the main exhibition route, invites visitors to actively engage with the exhibition. Challenges include: drawing the typical shape of a porcelain piece, closely observing the decoration, tracing the history, creating your own family monogram, spotting unusual porcelain objects and guessing their purpose, and more. The tour also includes the exhibition’s three interactive workshops.

The family tour is available as a printed guide, free of charge at the reception desk. Within the exhibition, the tour’s stops are marked by a potter’s logo.

 Exhibition Catalog (in French)

The exhibition “The Porcelain House” tells the story of the Ixelles porcelain factory and the people who brought it to life. Reconstructed thanks to the donation of the company’s collection and archives to the Royal Museum of Mariemont, the exhibition has been studied by specialists in the history of ceramics and techniques, as well as in society, economics, and urban planning. Through the lens of porcelain, this book thus offers a glimpse into two centuries of Belgian history. (excerpt from the back cover)

Published by: Royal Museum of Mariemont, 2026. Legal deposit: 2026/0451/22. ISBN: 978-2-931215-17-3

Scholarly edition: edited by Élise Urbain-Ruano, Marieke De Baerdermaker, and Valérie Montens. Text authors: Elsa Bachelard, Mario Baeck, Cyril Barde, Lara Bauden, Nina Colpaert, Marieke De Baerdemaeker, Matthijs Degraeve, Bénédicte Del Marmol, Greet Draye, Anne-Clothilde Dumargne, Claire Dumortier, Patrick Habets, Lyce Jankowski, Jean Lemaire, Christophe Loir, Audrey Mazeyrie, Valérie Montens, Wim Nys, Li-Ann Pierre-Lagrue, Michel Pinckaers, Jo Tollebeek, Élise Urbain-Ruano, Jakob Vandenberghe, Gerrit Verhoeven, Christine Vivet-Peclet

The catalog is available for purchase at the museum shop or through the online store for €45.
 

 Curators

The exhibition is curated by Elise Urbain Ruano, in collaboration with Marieke De Baerdemaeker and Valérie Montens.

 Loans and Lenders

• Brussels, Museum of the City of Brussels – Maison du Roi – including the Nicaise Bequest (1953), the Lemonnier Bequest (1946), the Evenepoel Bequests (1890 and 1911), the Hillemacker Donation (Mrs. Faber, widow) (1895), and acquisitions
• Brussels, Museum of the City of Brussels – Museum of Fashion & Lace – including the Behets Donation, 1988
• Brussels, Royal Museums of Art and History
• Film Archive of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
• Private collections
• Morlanwelz, Royal Museum of Mariemont – including the Warocqué Bequest 1917, the Siraut Donation 1967, the Demeuldre-Coché Donation 2024, a donation from the Cercle royal des Amis de Mariemont, and acquisitions
• Tervuren, AfricaMuseum

Featured Artisans

• Emmanuelle ANSELIN (Les Ateliers d’Emma) - Ceramics
• Valérie BACART - Textile and Fashion Design
• Anne-Marie BARREAUX - Ceramics
• Emmanuelle BÉDUNEAU (Analepse) - Featherwork
• Véronique BETTENS (La terre au vert) - Ceramics
• Martine BRION (Texture Fibre) - Textile Design
• Nadège DEBUGNE - Ceramics
• Christel DELIÈGE - Jewelry Design
• Francine DELMOTTE - Glass paste
• Bernadette DEMOULIN - Textile Design
• Isabelle DESAULTY - Engraving
• Christine DOFNY-FOUCART (Chris’tiss) - Weaving
• Charlotte FONTAINE (Le Goupil File) - Wool Spinning
• Anne JANSSENS and Alain DEGUIDE (Bagatelles Créations) - Spun and Torch-Blown Glass
• Françoise JORIS - Ceramics
• Dagmar KALODOVÁ (Terre d'Envies) - Ceramics
• Cécile LEMOINE - Ceramics
• Florence LENAIN - Ceramics
• Magdalena LUKASZYNSKA (La Rosace) - Stained glass
• Marie Agnès MARLAIR - Screen-printed porcelain
• Véronique NICAISE (TERRIENNE) - Ceramics
• Catherine PARFAIT - MAZÉ - Contemporary lace
• Melina POLLEZ (CeraMeli) - Ceramics
• Diane TENRET - Ceramics
• Claudine VANDERICK - Ceramics
• Grégoire VIGNERON (Tokowo) - Paper design

 Production and partners 

The Porcelain House is an exhibition co-produced by the Domain and Royal Museum of Mariemont, the Museum of the City of Brussels and the Royal Museums of Art and History, in partnership with the Office des Métiers d’Art of the Province of Hainaut.

Institut Provincial des Arts et Métiers du Centre (IPAMC) : Since 2021, the Royal Estate and Museum of Mariemont has been collaborating with the Provincial Institute of Arts and Crafts of the Centre (IPAMC) and Samantha Lo Mauro, a sewing instructor. This year, the costumes created with adult education students will be worn by the new representatives of the “Magasin de Porcelaine”: our docents during guided tours. Two work dresses and aprons were made, as well as a saleswoman’s uniform.

The Royal Estate & Museum of Mariemont thanks all of its partners for their commitment and support.

© Musée royal de Mariemont 

© Musée royal de Mariemont (Don du Cercle royal des Amis de Mariemont ASBL)