Dazed by glaze

Some 19th-century panels that adorned restaurants depict vivid scenes of sausages being smoked in kitchens.

Many of the other exhibited works come from subway stations, where generations of people examined them while waiting for their trains.

Grand Panorama of Lisbon, which was created around 1700 and is one of the most important collections in the National Azulejo Museum of Portugal, is also in Beijing. It portrays landmarks in Lisbon, including St. George's Castle, the Monastery of Jeronimos and the Tower of Belem.

Nevertheless, azulejo art is not limited to nostalgia.

The modern exhibits of the show have been donated by artists, who have gone beyond traditional themes like religion and landscapes to explore more experimental patterns of contemporary art. New approaches and materials like photomosaic techniques used to make plaques in relief, and copper-mound have created new areas of expression.