Meissen porcelain is the first European
hard-paste porcelainHard-paste porcelain is a hard ceramic that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature. It was first made in China around the 9th century....
that was developed from 1708 by
Ehrenfried Walther von TschirnhausEhrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was a German mathematician, physicist, physician and philosopher. He is the inventor of the European porcelain, an invention that for a long time had been assigned to Johann Friedrich Böttger...
. After his untimely death that October,
Johann Friedrich BöttgerJohann Friedrich Böttger was a Germanalchemist.He was generally acknowledged as the inventor of European porcelain although more recent sources ascribe this to Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus...
, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market, and he has often been credited with the invention. The production of porcelain at
MeissenMeissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
, near
DresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers, still in business today as
Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH. Its signature
logoA logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo's design is for immediate recognition...
, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the crossed swords is one of the oldest
trademarkA trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from...
s in existence. It dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756.
Beginnings
The Chinese had mastered the production of porcelain long before the west became aware of it, and by the seventeenth century oriental porcelain had become a valuable export commodity in the
China tradeChina trade may refer to* Economy of the People's Republic of China* Economic history of China * Economic history of Modern China* the Old China Trade, the commerce between China and the United States in the late 18th and early 19th century...
. Mostly provided by the
Dutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock...
, porcelain from China and Japan represented wealth, importance, and refined taste in Europe, while local attempts to produce porcelain, such as the brief experiment that produced "
Medici porcelainMedici porcelain was the first successful attempt in Europe to imitate Chinese porcelain. The experimental manufactory housed in the Casino of San Marco in Florence existed between 1575 and 1587 under the patronage of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany...
" had met with failure.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century Johann Friedrich Böttger pretended he had solved the dream of the
alchemistAlchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties...
s, to produce gold from worthless materials. When King August II of Poland, Elector of Saxony Elector of Saxony Augustus the Strong heard of it, he kept him in protective custody and requested him to produce gold. For years Johann Friedrich Böttger was unsuccessful in this effort. At the same time, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, a mathematician and scientist, experimented with the manufacture of glass, trying to make porcelain as well. Tschirnhaus supervised Böttger and by 1707 Böttger reluctantly started to help in the experiments by Tschirnhaus. When Tschirnhaus suddenly died, the recipe apparently was handed over to Böttger, who within one week announced to the Elector that he could make porcelain. Böttger refined the formula and with some Dutch co-workers, experienced in firing and painting tiles, the stage was set for the manufacturing of porcelain. In 1709, the Elector established the first Meissen manufactory, placed Böttger's laboratory at
AlbrechtsburgThe Albrechtsburg is the castle that dominates the city centre of Meissen, Germany. This castle, the masterpiece of Arnold of Westphalia, was constructed in the 15th Century as a residence, not as a military fortress, the first German castle built for such a purpose. The castle, while designed...
castle in
MeissenMeissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
and production started officially in 1710.
Early Work
The first type of porcelain produced by Böttger was a refined and extremely hard red stoneware known in Germany as
Böttgersteinzeug. It retained very crisp definition in its mold-cast applied details, on bodies that could be polished to a gloss before firing. Models were derived from
BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
silver shapes and Chinese ceramic examples. Meissen's production of a
hard paste white porcelainHard-paste porcelain is a hard ceramic that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature. It was first made in China around the 9th century....
that could be glazed and painted soon followed, and wares were put on the market in 1713.
Böttger's experimental wares rapidly gained quality but never achieved successful painted and fired decor. The first successful ornaments were gold decorations applied upon the fired body and finely engraved before they received a second firing at a lower temperature. Multicolor enamelled painting was introduced by Johann Gregorius Höroldt in 1723, with an increasingly broad palette of colors that marked the beginning of the classic phase of Meissen porcelain. His enamel paints are still the basis for ceramic paints today. Initially paintings often imitated oriental patterns. The signature underglaze "Meissen Blue" was introduced by Friedrich August Köttig. Soon minutely detailed landscapes and port scenes, animals, flowers,
galante courtly scenes and
chinoiserieChinoiserie, a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences...
s— fanciful Chinese-inspired decorations— were to be found on Meissen porcelain. The
KakiemonFrom the mid-17th century, Kakiemon wares were produced at the factories of Arita, Saga Prefecture, Japan with much in common with the Chinese "Famille Verte" style...
vases and tea wares of kilns in Arita, Japan were imitated as
Indianische Blume ("Flowers of the Indies"). Paintings by Watteau were copied. Wares were also sold in solid glazed colors, to be enamelled in private workshops (
Hausmalerei) and independently retailed. The support of Augustus' patronage attracted to Meissen some of the finest painters and modelers of Europe as staff artists.
Famous trademark
The Albrechtsburg was utilized to protect the secrets of the manufacture of the white gold. As a further precaution, very few workers knew the special secret (
arcanum) of how to make porcelain, and then perhaps only part of the process. Thus, for a few years, Meissen retained its monopoly on the production of hard-paste porcelain in Europe. By 1717, however, a competing production was set up at Vienna, as Samuel Stöltzel sold the secret recipe, which involved the use of kaolin, also known as china clay. By 1760 about thirty porcelain manufacturers were operating in Europe, most of them, however, producing frit based soft-paste porcelain.
In order to identify the original Meissen products, Meissen developed markings that initially were painted on, but were soon fired in underglaze blue. Early markings such as
AR (Augustus Rex, the monogram of the King),
K.P.M. (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur),
M.P.M. (Meissener Porzellan-Manufaktur), and
K.P.F. ("Königliche Porzellan-Fabrik) were eventually replaced by the
crossed swords logo. Introduced in 1720, it was used consistently after 1731 by official decree. Variations in the "crossed swords" logo allow approximate dating of the wares. Unfortunately, no marks for "Meissen" porcelain were filed in the United States until 1966. Many of the original mark filings in the United States for "Meissen" porcelain remained abandoned for 24 years until August 17, 1990 when the Meissen trademark was reapplied for in the United States.
Artistic development
Augustus II charged first Johann Jakob Irminger with the design of new vessels. In 1720 Johann Gregorius Höroldt became the director and introduced brilliant colors which made Meissen porcelain famous. The next sculptor, Johann Jakob Kirchner, was the first to make large-scale statues and figurines, especially of Baroque saints. His assistant was
Johann Joachim KaendlerJohann Joachim Kändler was the most important modelleur of the Meissen porcelain manufacture.Kändler was born in Fischbach near Dresden, Germany. After apprenticing at the sculptor Thomae in Dresden, he became assistant of Johann Jakob Kirchner at Meissen porcelain, and succeeded him as...
; in 1733 Kirchner resigned, and Kaendler took over as chief "modelmaster". He became the most famous of the Meissen sculptors. Under his direction Meissen produced the series of small figurines, often depicting scenes of gallantry, which brought out the best of the new material. His menagerie of large-scale animals, left in the white, are some of the high points of European porcelain manufacture. His work resulted in the production of exquisite figurines in the
rococoRococo is a style of 18th century French art and interior design. Rococo rooms were designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings...
style that influenced porcelain making in all of Europe. Supported by assistants like Johann Friedrich Eberlein and Peter Reinecke, he worked until his death in 1775.
In 1756, during the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War lasted between 1754 and 1763 and involved all of the major European powers of the period. The war pitted Prussia and Britain and a coalition of smaller German states against an alliance consisting of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony...
, Prussian troops occupied Meissen, giving
Frederick II of PrussiaFrederick II was a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
the opportunity to relocate some of the artisans to establish the Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur Berlin. With the changing tastes of the neoclassical period and the rise of Sèvres porcelain in the 1760s, Meissen had to readjust its production, and in the reorganization from 1763, C.W.E. Dietrich of the Dresden Academy became artistic director and Michel-Victor Acier from France became the modelmaster. The practice of impressing numerals that correspond to moulds in the inventory books began in 1763. Sèvres styles and ventures into
NeoclassicismNeoclassicism is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw upon Western classical art and culture...
, such as matte bisque wares that had the effect of white marble, marked the manufactory's output under
Count Camillo MarcoliniCamillo Count Marcolini-Ferretti was a minister and general director of the fine arts for the Electorate, later Kingdom of Saxony....
, from 1774.
In the nineteenth century Ernst August Leuteritz modernized many of the rococo figurines, and reissued them, creating a "Second Rococo" characterized by lacework details (made from actual lace dipped in slip and fired) and applied flowers; English collectors used the term
Dresden porcelain to describe these wares, especially the somewhat simpering and coy figurines. Under Erich Hösel, who became head of the modelling department in 1903, old styles were revived and reinterpreted. Hösel also restored eighteenth century models. Some appealing work in the
Art NouveauArt Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century . The name 'Art nouveau' is French for 'new art'...
style was produced, but Meissen's mainstay continued to be the constant production of revived eighteenth-century models.
After 1933, the artistic freedom of the artists became restricted by the State of Saxony in accordance with the contemporary indoctrination process in Germany. Some artists (i.e.
Ernst BarlachErnst Barlach was a German expressionist sculptor, printmaker and writer. Although he was a supporter of the war in the years leading to World War I, his participation in the war made him change his position, and he is mostly known for his sculptures protesting against the war...
) who had contributed to progressive Meissen during the Weimar period were banned.
After World War II and under Communist rule, the manufactory that had always catered to the rich and wealthy had some difficulty to find its way. The danger was that Meissen would become a factory merely producing for the masses. It was not until 1969, when Karl Petermann became the director, that Meissen went back to focus on its old traditions and was also allowed a freer artistic expression.
Tableware patterns
Already Böttger foresaw the production of
tablewareTableware or Table Appointments includes the dishes, sauce boats, glassware, and cutlerys used to set a table for eating a meal. The nature, variety, and number of objects varies from culture to culture, and may vary from meal to meal....
, and the first sets were made in the 1720s. Initially sets were plain, and it was Kaendler who introduced matching decorations. For the manufactory's director, Count Brühl, in 1737-43, the "Schwanen Service" ("Swan Service") was made, consisting eventually of more than one thousand pieces. At the end of World War II its pieces became scattered among collectors and museums. Yet with the moulds still available, the swan pattern continues to be made today. Kaendler also produced the 1745 "New Cutout" pattern characterized by a wavy edge cut.
The
Blue OnionBlue Onion is a china pattern originally manufactured by Meissen porcelain since the 18th century, but copied by other companies since the late 19th centuries as well.-History:...
pattern has been in production for close to three centuries. It was basically designed by Höroldt in 1739 and is probably inspired by a Chinese bowl from the Kangxi period. Due to its popularity it has been copied extensively by over sixty companies. Many pieces with the blue onion pattern have been produced by competitors, some of them even using the term
Meissen as a marking. The pattern was so popular and widespread that the German Supreme Court in 1926 ruled that the term
Meissen Zwiebelmuster ("Meissen Onion Pattern") was in the public domain.
Other popular patterns still in production include the
Purple Rose pattern and the
Vine-leaf pattern.
A series of "Court Dragon" and "Red Dragon" tableware patterns feature Chinese dragons in underglaze red with gilded details flying around the rim of the plate and a medallion in the center of the cavetto. A version of this pattern was used in Hitler's
KehlsteinhausThe Kehlsteinhaus , is a chalet-style building which when built was an extension of the Obersalzberg complex built by the Nazis in the mountains near Berchtesgaden. The Kehlsteinhaus was an official 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler...
retreat.
Ownership
At the beginning the Meissen manufactory was owned by the King of
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
; by 1830 it came to belong to the State of Saxony. After World War II, most of the equipment was sent to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
as part of
war reparationsWar reparations refers to the monetary compensation intended to cover damage or injury during a war. Generally, the term war reparations refers to money or goods changing hands, rather than such property transfers as the annexation of land....
. However, already by 1946, the workers using traditional methods and the
kilnKilns are thermally insulated chambers, or ovens, in which controlled temperature regimes are produced. They are used to harden, burn or dry materials...
s that had not been dismantled were able to resume production. The company became a Soviet Joint Stock Company in Germany. Almost all of the production was sent to the Soviet Union, a crucial step that kept the artisan community alive. After the establishment of the
German Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic was a Communist state that originated from the Soviet Zone of occupied Germany and the Soviet sector of occupied Berlin...
, the company was handed over to German ownership in 1950 and became a
people-owned companyThe Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
.
Meissen Porzellan turned out to be one of the few profitable companies in the economically troubled East German system, earning much needed foreign currency. After the German reunification in 1990, the company was restored to the
State of SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
which is the sole owner. While its products are expensive, the high quality and artistic value make Meissen porcelain very desirable by collectors and connoisseurs.
Meissen collections
The rarity and expense of Meissen porcelain meant that originally it could only be bought by the upper classes. Meissen took orders from the elites of Russia, France, England and other European countries. The European wealthy accumulated vast collections and when a wealthy class emerged in the United States people like the
VanderbiltsThe Vanderbilt family is a significant international family with Dutch origins, who were highly prominent during the 1800s due to the family patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, the tenth wealthiest person in history, who created railroad and shipping empires...
started their own collections. Many of these collections then found their way into the world's great museums.
Personalities
- Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus
Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was a German mathematician, physicist, physician and philosopher. He is the inventor of the European porcelain, an invention that for a long time had been assigned to Johann Friedrich Böttger...
, inventor of porcelain in Europe.
- Johann Friedrich Böttger
Johann Friedrich Böttger was a Germanalchemist.He was generally acknowledged as the inventor of European porcelain although more recent sources ascribe this to Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus...
, introduced manufacturing process of porcelain
- Heinrich Gottlieb Kühn, inventor of coloring process
- Friedrich August Köttig, inventor of Meissen Blue
- Johann Joachim Kaendler
Johann Joachim Kändler was the most important modelleur of the Meissen porcelain manufacture.Kändler was born in Fischbach near Dresden, Germany. After apprenticing at the sculptor Thomae in Dresden, he became assistant of Johann Jakob Kirchner at Meissen porcelain, and succeeded him as...
, master modeller ca. 1730-1770
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