Carmen Teresa Olmedo, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, recently visited the Ciudad Real Museum, located in the Convent of La Merced, to explore the exhibition dedicated to the Vicente Carranza Collection. This exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the history and evolution of Spanish ceramics through a selection of pieces from various periods and regions.
During her visit, Olmedo emphasised the historical, artistic, and cultural significance of the collection, which is the result of nearly fifty years of dedication to collecting by Vicente Carranza Escudero, originally from Daimiel, and his wife, Pepita. Together, they amassed around 6,000 pieces, representing an important testament to the ceramic and tile-making tradition.
The exhibition is organised into twelve display cases showcasing works from different production centres, including Valencia, Aragón, Catalonia, and Seville, with a notable presence of pieces from Talavera de la Reina and Puente del Arzobispo. Among the displayed items are medieval golden earthenware, tricolour series, polychrome and chiaroscuro blue ceramics, as well as examples of pharmaceutical ceramics and pieces linked to the influence of the Royal Factory of Alcora.
Olmedo acknowledged Vicente Carranza's commitment to preserving and promoting artistic heritage. Since the late 1990s, he expressed his desire to share his collection with the public through loans and donations to various cultural institutions. She also thanked the Carranza family for their collaboration in allowing a selection of these pieces to be viewed by the public across different locations in Castilla-La Mancha.
The exhibition, curated by Ángel Sánchez-Cabezudo Gómez, will tour the provincial museums of Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Cuenca, and Albacete before reaching its permanent home at the Ruiz de Luna Ceramics Museum in Talavera de la Reina. Vicente Carranza Escudero, born in Daimiel in 1928 and passed away in Madrid in 2019, received numerous accolades throughout his career for his contributions to the preservation of artistic heritage, including the Castilla-La Mancha Medal for Artisan Merit in 2010 and the Extraordinary Cultural Merit Medal of Castilla-La Mancha in 2017.
