-The exhibition shows the history of Spanish pottery from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries.

-The items on display come from Valencia, Aragon, Catalonia, Talavera and Alcora.

-The exhibition opens today and will continue until 22 July.

Valencia’s González National Ceramics and Sumptuary Arts Museum, the Fundación Francisco Godia and the abertis foundation, with the support of aumar, an abertis group company, announce the exhibition Spanish ceramics masterpieces at the Fundación Francisco Godia. The exhibition brings together 74 articles of Spanish ceramics from the Francisco Godia collection and will be open to the public from 11 May to 22 July 2007, at Valencia’s National Ceramics Museum.

The works selected show the history of Spanish ceramics from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century. The exhibition also displays items from different ceramics production centres: Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Alcora (Castellón). To complement these different geographical origins is an albarello of Syrian origin from the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth centuries, decorated with kufic inscriptions.

From Valencia are three socarrats and a number of gilded-highlight items, including apothecary pots from the fifteenth century, and a number of sixteenth-century plates with relieves.

From Aragon are two items of Aragonese earthenware: an apothecary’s pot made in Muel, from the beginning of the seventeenth century, and a font decorated with polychrome animals and with its owner’s name.

From Catalonia are two plates with gilded highlights from the seventeenth century, typically Catalan, in addition to other items from later periods, with examples of the most popular series. Worthy of special note are an apothecary’s pot from the beginning of the seventeenth century and an Italian-influenced plate with a scene of two fighting knights.

Additionally, there are a number of examples of Talavera ceramics, from the tricolour series of the sixteenth century, in blue and polychrome. Worthy of especial note is a large ornamental vase with a hunting scene. From the Real Fábrica de Alcora, founded by Count Aranda, visitors can also enjoy an item from the series fauna of Alcora, a metallised sculptural group, as well as apothecary pots, part of an entire set, and a chaparro soup bowl.

The Fundación Francisco Godia

The Fundación Francisco Godia holds the private collection of Francisco Godia Sales, one of the most important in Spain, covering the lengthy period from the twelfth century to the present day. With a large collection of medieval paintings and sculpture, it has almost one thousand items of Spanish ceramics from the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries and an important collection of paintings from artists such as Pedro Berruguete, Francisco de Zurbarán, Juan Van der Hamen, Ramón Casas, Isidro Nonell, Joaquín Sorolla, José Gutiérrez Solana and Antoni Tàpies. These collections are exhibited to the public in the form of a permanent selection and temporary exhibitions.

One of the Foundation’s goals is to shed light on the role of private collections in the conservation of cultural heritage. It therefore organizes exhibitions which allows visitors to enjoy –often for the first time– Spain’s leading private collections.

The abertis foundation

The abertis foundation is dedicated to promoting and disseminating studies on the impact of infrastructures on the territory, especially on the economy, demographics and the environment. As a corporate responsibility tool of abertis, the leading mobility and communications infrastructure management corporation, the abertis foundation also carries out a wide-ranging road safety programme.

At the same time, the abertis foundation encourages and disseminates the country’s cultural and artistic values, be this in partnership with other organizations –as is the case with this exhibition– or through its own projects, such as the restoration, conservation and opening to the public of Castellet Castle (Barcelona) and of the Roman quarry at Mèdol (Tarragona), the sculptures on the AP-7 motorway and the tiled murals at the service stations of the AP-2 motorway.

Aumar

aumar is an abertis Group motorway concession operator. It manages the AP-7 motorway between Tarragona and Valencia (225.3 km), and the Valencia-Alicante section (148.5 km). It also operates the AP-4, between Seville and Cadiz, with a length of 93.8 km.