On display are 11 panels of tiles designed in 18th century Portugal. They had been kept at the Croatian Embassy in Lisbon until two years ago when the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs donated them to the Museum of Arts and Crafts.
The tiles used to decorate the walls of the Yugoslav Embassy in Portugal, which was given to Croatia under a succession agreement in 2006. Before the sale of the building, the tiles were taken off the walls and 11 of 17 panels were donated to the Museum of Arts and Crafts, while six remained in the new Croatian Embassy building in Lisbon, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Davor Ivo Stier, recalled in his opening remarks.
The tiles date from the time of King João V when such tiles were used to decorate churches, monasteries, palaces and townhouses in Portugal and across the Portuguese empire, including Brazil, Stier said.
The opening ceremony was attended by prominent Croatian political figures and diplomats.
The exhibition was opened on the occasion of the Portuguese president's state visit to Croatia and can be viewed until August 27.