Instituted in 1975 on premises in Palazzo Vanni, the Museum documents the activity of manufacturing gesso plaster products and the phenomenon of emigration of the "figurine maker" in the Middle Valley of the Serchio from the 17th century to our own day. The exhibit thus reconstructs an important stage in the history and development of the plaster figurine.

The collections consist mainly of statuettes fabricated by the most expert moulders between the 18th and the 20th century, implements used in their fabrication (nineteenth-century plaster moulds, coming from private donations, and some rubber moulds from the first half of the 20th century) and documentation on the methods employed. Among the most interesting items are a mask of Cavour, some eighteenth-century figurines of kittens stained by candle smoke, and a permanent crèche.

Much of the material displayed comes from the Scuola di Disegno e Plastica "Carlo Vanni" ["Carlo Vanni" School of Drawing and Plastic Arts] and from the donation of Remo Molinari (1883-1973), a descendant of the owner of one of the leading workshops in the area.