Professor Daria Borghese inaugurates the exhibition

During the past six years Professor Daria Borghese has been working on the exhibition d’Oro e Turchese: Le ceramiche Borghese di Pratica di Mare (Made of Gold and Turquoise: The Borghese Ceramics of Pratica di Mare). The exhibition will inaugurate on Monday, March 25th, and it will be open to the public from March 26th to May 19th, 2024 at Casa Museo Boncompagni Ludovisi in Via Boncompagni, 18 Rome.

The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Artistic Ceramics Factory in Pratica di Mare (1924-2024) and consists of about three hundred objects that tell the story of the ceramic factory and the woman who strongly desired, founded and carried it on for decades: Maria Monroy, wife of Camillo Borghese, prince of Vivaro.

Borghese took an idea to fully developed it into the exhibition that is now opening. When working on the exhibition Borghese had to ensure that many different factors all fit together. “I was very grateful when in 2023 Matilde Amaturi, the Director of the Casa Museo Boncompagni Ludovisi, embraced and even encouraged my idea” commented Borghese.

The artifacts on display, such as the sumptuous tableware in gold, silver and turquoise colors, objects copied from archaeological finds from ancient Lavinium and amusing animalia, show how the Pratica di Mare manufactory had its own distinctive character.

Maria Monroy Borghese founded the manufactory with the intention of providing employment opportunities for the less fortunate. This was in an economically depressed area, where she even started promoting apprenticeships for unmarried women with children. The entire project is thus a women's story, the result of the intertwining of the ancient potter's trade, the philanthropy of the Roman aristocracy and the pedagogical theories of the time.

The production directors who took turns over the years, from Renzo Cellini to Francesco Caraglia, were joined by the talent of the Borghese princess who was responsible for the artistic conception of the artifacts and the fine-tuning of firing techniques. The factory, which continued its production of ceramics even after the princess' death in 1964, closed down in 2011.

The ceramics on display are a precious testimony of Roman and Lazio production, of which the Boncompagni Ludovisi House Museum preserves and exhibits the works of various artists: from Duilio Cambellotti to the Manifattura Tidei of Grottaferrata, the School of the Roman Walls of the Randone Family to Olga Modigliani, to name a few.

The exhibition catalogue has been partially founded by Notre Dame Rome.

Technical Data:

Exhibition curator

Daria Borghese

Exhibition design

Isabella Ciracì Altamura

Catalogue

Artemide Editioni

Catalogue edited by

Daria Borghese

with the collaboration of Anna Ruotolo

Preface

Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano

Prof. Massimo Osanna

Introduction to the catalogue

Barbara Jatta

Francesca Cappelletti

Texts by

Matilde Amaturo

Daria Borghese

Valentina Filamingo

Pier Paolo Pancotto

Luca Pesante

Anna Ruotolo

Photographer

Giulio Archinà