The ceramics collection contains mainly works from Thuringian porcelain manufactories as well as objects made of stoneware, earthenware and clay. The collection of 4,500 pieces of ceramics is largely attributable to the collection of the Rudolstadt Trade Association. Other pieces came to the museum through the »Prince Guenther Foundation«, which administered the estate of the princely house. Thus, 100 pieces of dinner service, commissioned by Prince Johann Friedrich of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, are among the earliest porcelains from the Volkstedt manufactory and are considered the oldest from Thuringia. The blue underglaze mark of two crossed forks resembles the Meissen swords not without reason – after all, Volkstedt was soon producing the white gold just as successfully as Saxony.
Particularly in the last 30 years, this collection has gained supra-regional significance through the processing of the porcelain manufactories »Schwarzburger Werkstaetten für Porzellankunst Unterweißbach« and »Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanfabrik«. Since the beginning of 2021, with the support of the Thuringian Museum Association, the special collection Schwarzburg Workshops for Porcelain Art can be accessed online in the Thuringian Museum Portal. This focus of currently 230 porcelains also represents the most extensive stock of original models of the Schwarzburg workshops worldwide. The catalogue raisonné published by the museum in 2013 documents research work on the artists and their models, which is being pursued continually.