site.btaVarna Ethnographic Museum Marks 50th Anniversary with Porcelain Exhibition

The Varna Ethnographic Museum marks its 50th anniversary with an exhibition titled, "Porcelain - The Eternal Companion of Luxury", said Tatyana Shtereva, chief curator of the museum. Tuesday's opening was attended by Regional Governor Prof Andriyana Andreeva, Regional History Museum Director Igor Lazarenko and Regional Library Director Radka Kalcheva, amongst others.

The exhibition shows 50 out of the more than 400 porcelain items owned by the museum, Shtereva said. They date from the middle of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, with the oldest exhibit dating from 1855. Visitors to the museum will also learn that the history of porcelain began in China in the 7th century, with the technology involving kaolin, quartz and feldspar kept a secret. In Europe, porcelain began to appear in the 14th century after the travels of Marco Polo, and it wasn't until the 18th century that the alchemist Johann Böttger created the first European white porcelain.

The Varna Ethnographic Museum was officially opened on July 27, 1974, even though the collection of thematic materials had already begun at the end of the 19th century, Shtereva pointed out. She recalled that the beginning of the museum work in Varna was set in 1887 by Karel Shkorpil and her colleagues. In the same year, a small museum collection was organized in the city library, which in 1895 was transferred to the Girls' High School. The Varna Archaeological Society, established in 1901, has the primary task of collecting exhibits for a future museum, which is envisioned to have three separate departments, including an ethnographic department. 

In 1974, the Ethnographic Museum was opened in one of the most representative houses preserved from the Renaissance period, built around 1860. Since then, the museum has arranged more than 100 temporary exhibitions from its rich collection.