One of the great Spanish ceramic centers from the 16th century was that of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), which received the support of the crown from the numerous commissions for its palaces, and consequently also became of interest to the bourgeoisie and nobility. Similarly, the great monasteries, such as El Escorial, Yuste or Silos, were supplied with Talavera ceramics for their tableware or pharmacies.

The success of their production—dishes, water dispensers, jugs, pharmacy jars—allowed an evolution that scholars have traced from their decorative elements or the use of colors: butterflies, ferns, hardware, tricolor, polychrome, among others. The Museum's collection is remarkable both for the number of pieces and for the uniqueness of some of them.

A few kilometers from Talavera is the town of Puente del Arzobispo, another important ceramic center that repeats many of the Talavera series, and it is often difficult to determine which of the two centers a piece belongs to, and its provenance is mentioned as Talavera-Puente del Arzobispo.