A museums trust is celebrating after being awarded almost £100,000 to display its world-class collection of ceramics in a major exhibition at three venues in 2005.

Select pieces of ceramics from a collection of thousands of pots will feature in the display, which will be open to the public at three museums in Yorkshire.

The material, from York Castle Museum, the Yorkshire Museum and York Art Gallery, will feature items from the W.A. Ismay Collection - widely considered to be the most important collection of British post-war studio pottery in existence.

York Museums Trust will use its £96,550 award from the Esme Fairbairn Foundation to recruit a new specialist in ceramics, responsible for the cataloguing of the W.A.Ismay collection and managing the exhibitions and public programme of events.

Janet Barnes, Chief Executive of York Museums Trust, said: "The chance to show the breadth and richness of all of our ceramic collections will put York on the map with regard to ceramics."

The future exhibition will be shown at York Art Gallery, Scarborough Art Gallery and Wakefield Art Gallery.