PotWeb is an innovative project which will make the collection available through the Internet to a worldwide audience, and develop to the full its educational research potential.

The collections are wide-ranging, and include Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, pre-Islamic and Islamic ceramics, Ancient and Classical Greek and Roman pottery, Chinese Greenwares, Japanese export wares and Italian maiolica. The outstanding English material includes early Delftware, early Worcester porcelain and Staffordshire salt-glaze stoneware.

As a first step PotWeb has focused on the Museum's superb collection of medieval and later ceramics. As funding becomes available, PotWeb will expand creating an increasingly comprehensive, worldwide ceramic survey to encompass all the collections throughout the Museum.

The first collection to go online is very varied, and includes medieval wares from the most accomplished ceramic industry of England, the Brill/Boarstall potteries in Buckinghamshire, as well as examples of Staffordshire Blackware, Surrey/Hampshire Border ware, Staffordshire slipware, and early Delftware from England, the Low Counties and northern Italy. Staffordshire salt-glaze stoneware, English and Rhenish stonewares, earthenwares from some of the well known north Midland factories and porcelain tableware from Worcester and Chelsea are all represented.

The project has been designed in four phases:

The pilot project of medieval ceramics has been largely completed, and funding is now required to make the entire PotWeb concept a reality.