vytautas valiušis ceramics Museum

Contacts
Address: Topolių g. 7 (Senoji mokykla), LT-28361, Leliūnai, Utenos rajonas.
Leliūnai, a small town, is 12 kilometres away of Utena in the direction of Kaunas.
Tel.: (+370 ~ 389) 60 885, (+370 ~ 389) 60 869, (+370 ~ 389) 60 870.
Mob. tel. (+370 686) 22 807.

Information for Visitor
Visitors are accepted by prior appointment by telephone (+370 686) 22 807.

Additional services:
the excursions include a visit to V. Valiušis studio where the visitors may try the hand at throwing of pots and see how ceramic articles are dried, decorated, glazed and roasted;
souvenirs, ceramic articles, leaflets may be acquired at the Museum and the studio.

Collection
The Museum’s collection contains stored specimens in old and new ceramics, ethnographic exhibits.

Exposition
In the halls of expositions about 700 authentic specimens of old ceramics are displayed, including mugs, tiles, crocks and pipkins, cruses, ornate pitchers, big glazed cylinders for keeping of milk, honey, butter, barrels for keeping of beer, meat, herring, flagons etc. Beside them are placed new works of ceramic art, ethnographic exhibits.
The oldest earthenware, tarnished, but still not broken, are of 150 up to 200 years old. But most exhibits date back to first decades of the 20th century.
The exposition is laid out somewhat incoherently what makes the visitor intrigued. Some classrooms of the former school abound not only in ceramic crockery, but also in other household utensils of wood, metal, glass. Tubs, bottles, ancient furniture, vats, seedlips, thousand-year old burrs intersperse the monotony of exposition.

Exhibitions
One hall of the Museum is designed for exhibitions of folk art.

History of the Museum
The Museum was opened on March 16, 2001 on the first floor of the Leliunai School. Folk artist V. Valiušis repaired shabby premises and equipped the exposition at his own cost.
The Ceramics Museum is a subdivision of the Utena Regional Museum.
The initiator of the Museum is Vytautas Valiušis, the artist and businessman.

Other news
Interesting roofpoles decorate the cemetery of Leliūnai, near the homestead of V. Valiušis (Slyvų str. 1). The enormous altar of pagan times was brought from the small lake of Mulkiskis (the Kileviskiai village) and placed at the house of Antanas Kukta where can be seen now.
The church of Leliūnai may boast of splendid organ made in Karaliaučius and chosen by Juozas Gruodis, the Lithuanian composer.
Leliūnai is a birthplace of poet Algimantas Baltakis, academician Kazimieras Meškauskas.