The Royal Collections: Program 2025

The Royal Collections invite the public to explore new aspects of Norwegian cultural history, presented at the Royal Palace, Oscarshall, and Queen Sonja Art Stable. This is the program for the coming year.

Guided tours of the Royal Palace

200 Years Since the Palace's Foundation Stone Was Laid
June 21 – August 17

For more than 20 years, the public has had the opportunity to experience some of the Palace's most important rooms during the summer season. This year, we celebrate that King Carl Johan - on October 1 1825, laid the foundation stone of the Royal Palace. Along with the stone, several very special coins were also deposited. This summer, this story will be a key feature of the guided tours.

We will also take a closer look at how the grand dinners are set in the Palace's grand dining hall.

In Queen Sonja Art Stable

At the King's Table - from dinner services to contemporary ceramics
Midtstallen: February 7 – December 14
Riding Hall: May 28 – Desember 14

The exhibition in the Midtstallen is based on the historical collections related to the King and Queen's official meals. "At the King's Table" presents tableware dating from 1815 to the present day. These pieces are part of a collection spanning several generations. When guests arrive at the Royal Palace, they are not only greeted by a set table but by a story conveyed through crockery, serving dishes, magnificent pieces, and vases.

The Palé tableware from 1815. Photo: Øivind Möller Bakken, The Royal Collections

The exhibition in the Riding Hall revolves around contemporary ceramics, where classical forms are transformed into monumental installations and sculptures.

At Oscarshall

Ceramics from KHiO
May 10 – August 31

We have invited four graduating students from the ceramics program at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO) to present new works in the park at Oscarshall. These are Anja Andrea Hallek, Jens Thygesen, Marius Engan Johansen, and Helene Skuterud. The exhibition will be open and freely accessible to the public during the summer palace's opening hours.

Building and equipping a royal palace in Oslo was a massive task for the nation in the mid-1800s. Several key individuals in the process had also been involved in founding the predecessor to today’s Oslo National Academy of the Arts. In this way, the Palace and KHiO have long historical ties, and we are pleased to continue this collaboration.

Contact information

For more information, please contact:

Gunhild Varvin, Head of the Royal Collections
Mobile: +47 402 17 573
E-mail: [email protected]

At the King's Table: More about the exhibition

The exhibition At the King's Table – From Dinner Services to Contemporary Ceramics, explores the history of tableware from the Royal Palace in Oslo. It presents items dating from 1815 to the present day and takes us on an adventurous journey.

Since ancient times, humans have shaped clay into utilitarian objects and decorative pieces. In almost every culture, ceramics have been among the oldest crafts. In the 18th century, Europeans succeeded in developing their own method for producing porcelain, and the first factories were often supported by royal families or princes. The influence of royal houses can be seen both through historical production, use, and design.

The Palé tableware from 1815. Photo: Øivind Möller Bakken, The Royal Collections

The presentation at Queen Sonja Art Stable consists of two parts. The first opens in the Midtstallen on February 6 (for the public on February 7) and is based on the historical heritage linked to the King and Queen's official meals in Oslo. This includes tableware from a collection spanning several generations. When guests arrive, they are greeted not only by a table set for a meal but for storytelling. These are presented through the tableware, as well as other ceramic and porcelain objects such as serving pieces, decorative items, and vases.

The second part of the exhibition opens on May 27 (for the public on May 28) and revolves around contemporary ceramics that transform classical forms into monumental installations and sculptures.

Torbjørn Kvasbø combines industrial production with contemporary ceramics in his work Vaseklase, which is now presented in Norway for the first time. The work was created in 2009 when Kvasbø was invited to a workshop at Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik. During the two weeks he spent there, he cast several hundred vases using the nearly 150-year-old molds from the factory’s archive. The work, with its more than 3,000 vases, reflects mass production in the porcelain industry while at the same time challenging conventional notions of the vase as an object. By removing the vase from the table and its function as a utilitarian and decorative item, and using it as a building block in an organic, plant-like sculpture, the boundaries of ceramic design are stretched.

Material exploration is a key aspect of Irene Nordli’s artistic practice. She shows an interest and curiosity in experimenting with various techniques and surface treatments, giving each artwork a distinctive and playful character. For Nordli, porcelain figures, particularly from Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik, have been a central source of inspiration in her artistic development.

In the studio of Irene Nordli. Photo: Øivind Möller Bakken, The Royal Collections.

Marit Tingleff's work, like Nordli and Kvasbø's, is not only a visual experience but also a tactile and physical encounter. Objects that were previously attached to the table as part of the table setting and serving are now transformed into a bodily experience in the room. Tingleff challenges the size of ceramics and the limits of what is physically possible. If a crack appears during firing due to the size of the work, it becomes an important part of the visual image, rather than being hidden away as a 'mistake. Rather, Tingleff's kintsugi-like approach celebrates the beauty of imperfection by making the cracks a prominent and valued part of the work's history.

In addition, Paul Scott has taken his point of departure in fragments from the oldest tableware found in the Royal Collections. The blue tableware was commissioned by Swedish King Carl II, who, in the autumn of 1814, became the first union king of Norway-Sweden. Today, it represents the world's oldest known collection of its kind. From these fragments, Scott has recreated new works, which are being shown to the public for the very first time.

Paul Scott at work. Photo: Øivind Möller Bakken, The Royal Collections.

The four contemporary ceramicists have all established themselves with an extensive artistic practice with their own workshops, and act as mentors and sources of knowledge and inspiration for future generations in the ceramics community.