Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first
Dresden porcelain (or "china") was once the usual term for these wares, until in 1975 the Oberlandesgericht (Higher Munich State Court) decided in favour of the Saxon Porcelain Manufactory Dresden, which alone was then allowed to use the name Dresden Porcelain (it ceased producing in 2020).[1]
Meissen remained the dominant European porcelain factory, and the leader of stylistic innovation, until somewhat overtaken by the new styles introduced by the French Sèvres factory in the 1760s, but has remained a leading factory to the present day. Among the developments pioneered by Meissen are the porcelain figurines, and the introduction of European decorative styles to replace the imitation of Asian decoration of its earliest wares.
Since 1991, the manufactory has been operating as the Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH,
Beginnings
At the beginning of the eighteenth century Johann Friedrich Böttger pretended he had solved the dream of the
At the same time,
When Tschirnhaus suddenly died, the recipe apparently was handed over to Böttger, who within one week announced to the King that he could make porcelain. Böttger refined the formula and with some Dutch co-workers, experienced in firing and painting
Early work
The first type of ware produced by Böttger was a refined and extremely hard red stoneware known as "Böttger ware" in English (in German: Böttgersteinzeug). This copied Chinese Yixing ware, and like that was especially used for teapots, and now coffee pots. Similar wares had been made by the Dutch and the Elers brothers in England. Böttger's version was harder than any of these,[7] and retained very crisp definition in its cast or applied ("sprigged") details, on bodies that could be polished to a gloss before firing. Models were derived from Baroque silver shapes and Chinese ceramic examples. There was also a softer stoneware, which was glazed and decorated.[8] Meissen's production of a hard paste white porcelain 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. The lacy frameworks outside painted scenes known in German as Laub- und bandelwerk in red, gold or
The signature
The support of Augustus' patronage attracted to Meissen some of the finest painters and modellers of Europe as staff artists.- Up to 1725
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Böttger stoneware coffeepot, c. 1710-13
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BöttgerAugustus the Strong, c. 1713
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Oriental figure, c. 1715
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Teapot, 1718–20, with "Oriental" flowers
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One of a pair of vases, 1720–25
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Wine pot in the shape of a peach, c. 1725
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Teapot, c. 1724-25, Walters Art Museum
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Sake bottle vase, painted by Johann Gregor Herold, 1725
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
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, based on the arms of the
Artistic development
After Irminger, the next chief modeller, Johann Jakob Kirchner, was the first to make large-scale statues and figurines, especially of Baroque saints. His assistant was
In 1756, during the
Marcolini period
19th-century
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. One of the flower painters was Georg Friedrich Kersting. After about 1830 the fortunes of the factory revived, although with wares that appeal less to modern taste than the 18th-century ones. The factory had great commercial success with the lithophane technique, introduced in 1829, which produced a picture when held up to the light.[15]
20th-century
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 Nouveau 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 Barlach) 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.
Figures
Figurines had been produced under Böttger, when a small white figure of Augustus II the Strong was produced. Johann Joachim Kändler modelled many of the most famous figures, which were initially made for decorating the tables at grand meals, usually in white, replacing sugar sculptures. However, they soon became very popular as ornaments for living rooms and were cheaper than an entire table service, so available to a rather wider market, both in terms of geography and social class. Kändler soon had them brightly painted, increasing their attraction.
Human figures were mostly courtiers, shepherds and shepherdesses (Dresden shepherdess is a proverbial term), commedia dell'arte characters, animals, personifications or "allegorical figures" (such the seasons, virtues, or continents) and figures in Chinese and Turkish costumes. As well as the pastoral fantasy shepherdesses there were also some more realistic figures of urban workers, based on print series of the street cries of Paris, London and other cities. In the 1750s a large series of miners was produced. The Meissen repertoire had a huge influence on other European porcelain factories, and the porcelain figure is a defining object for the Rococo.[16]
Kändler also produced a modello of Augustus III of Poland on a horse which was intended to be a life size statue for the city. There is an all white figure of the Triumph of Amphitrite in Berlin that is the only known figure signed by Kändler.[17]
A famous large group, or
The "Monkey Band" (
were popular in various media.-
Large goat for the menagerie of theJapanese Palace, 1732
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The conductor from the "Monkey Band", 1760s version.
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Johann Joachim Kaendler, c. 1741
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Pair ofgolden orioles, 1740–41
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Le Marquis, from the Cris de Paris series, c. 1757, Private Collection.
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Dancing Harlequine, from the Duke of Weissenfels series, c. 1747, Private Collection.
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Apollo and the Muses, centrepiece, c. 1750
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Asia from a set of theKaendler, c. 1760
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Candelabrum, one of a pair, 1760s
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Figurines by Jacob Ungerer: Gardener Girl with Dog, Goose Girl, Lady with Cat, 1902.
Tableware patterns
Böttger early foresaw the production of
Initially relatively small tea and coffee services were the most produced, but from the 1730s large
The most famous of these is the Swan Service (Schwanenservice) made in 1737-1743, for the manufactory's director, Count Heinrich von Brühl;[22][23] It eventually numbered more than a thousand pieces. At the end of World War II, the pieces of the Swan Service were scattered amongst collectors and museums. Yet, with the moulds still available, the pattern continues to be made today. The Möllendorff Dinner Service of the 1760s is another huge service, also today divided between many collections.[citation needed]
The Blue Onion pattern (in fact copying Chinese pomegranates) has been in production for close to three centuries. It was effectively designed by Höroldt in 1739 and is probably inspired by a Chinese bowl from the Kangxi period. Widely popular, the pattern has been copied extensively by over sixty companies; some of those competitors have even used the word Meissen as a marking. But the pattern became so popular and widespread that the German Supreme Court in 1926 ruled that the Meissen Zwiebelmuster was in the public domain.[citation needed]
A series of "Court Dragon" and "Red Dragon" tableware patterns features Chinese dragons, generally in underglaze red with gilt details flying around the rim of the plate and with a medallion in the center of the cavetto. A version of this pattern was used in Hitler's Kehlsteinhaus retreat.[citation needed]
Other popular patterns still in production include the Purple Rose pattern and the Vine-leaf pattern.
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Hard-porcelain plate with Chinese dragons, c. 1734, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.
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Plate c. 1740
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Dish from a tea-service, c. 1740
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Two "osier pattern" dishes of the first "Sulkowski" type, 1755–60
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Blaue Rispe pattern, from 1903, by Richard Riemerschmid
Ownership
At the beginning the Meissen manufactory was owned by the King of
Meissen collections
The rarity and expense of Meissen porcelain meant that originally it could be bought only by the upper classes; this gradually changed over the 19th century. When a wealthy class emerged in the United States in the nineteenth century, such families as the Vanderbilts started their own collections. Many of these collections then found their way into the world's great museums, including the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, featuring one of the largest collections in America.[24]
A collection of 117 chinoiserie items, including a mantel clock case made for Augustus the Strong dated 1727, which had been assembled by Dr Franz Oppenheimer and his wife, Margarethe, was auctioned by Sotheby's in September 2021 following the Oppenheimer's successful claim for restitution submitted to the Dutch Restitution Commission.[25][26][27]
A Meissen porcelain chocolate pot, cover, and stand, dated c.1780, were amongst the wedding gifts of
Personalities
- Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, inventor of Meissen porcelain
- Johann Friedrich Böttger, introduced manufacturing process of Meissen porcelain
- Heinrich Gottlieb Kühn, introduced the colouring process
- Friedrich August Köttig, introduced the Meissen Blue
- Johann Joachim Kaendler, master modeller ca. 1730-1770[29]
- Johann Eleazar Zeissig, known as Schenau, painter, designer and Director of the drawing school at the porcelain factory from 1773.
Gallery
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Vase, c. 1730, in Indianische Blume ("Indian flowers") imitating theArita porcelain, Japan.
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Man seated on plinth, holding monkey and ball. Meissen factory. Dated c. 1735. British Museum
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Produced around 1818 in the Wedgwood style, this allowed the Meissen company to compete with its English counterparts, Birmingham Museum of Art.
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Ebonized vitrine featuring hand painted Dresden(not Meissen as previously mentioned) porcelain mounts, c. 1870.
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Rococo Porcelain 12-Light Chandelier, c. 1900.
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Candelabrum for the Aleksander Józef Sułkowski service by Johann Joachim Kaendler, c. 1736, Dallas Museum of Art
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Clock with birds by Johann Joachim Kaendler, c. 1746
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Central medallion of a Meissen plate, 19th century.
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Four Elements Porcelain Ewers by Meissen, 18th century.
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Autumn and Summer Porcelain Urns by Meissen, 1880.
See also
Notes
- ^ Oberlandesgericht München, Verdict 10 July 1975, Case number 6 U 5307/74.
- ^ "Porcelain Manufactory MEISSEN".
- ISBN 978-3-86936-221-2.
- ^ Battie, 86-87
- ^ Battie, 88
- ^ "Meissen porcelain". (dead Link)
- ^ Battie, 88
- ^ Battie, 88
- ^ Battie, 89
- ^ Battie, 89
- ^ Battie, 89
- ^ Battie, 93-94
- ^ Greenberger, Michael (2019). Early Meissen Porcelain: The Michael Greenberger Collection.
- ^ Battie, 158-159
- ^ Battie, 159-160
- ^ Battie, 91-92
- ^ Honey, W. B. (1934). Dresden China: An Introduction to the Study of Meissen Porcelain.
- ^ Battie, 91
- ^ Battie, 91-92
- ^ Battie, 90
- ^ Le Corbellier, 20
- ISBN 978-1-904832-77-5.
- ^ Battie, 90
- ^ Meissen Encyclopaedia Archived 2008-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Laurence Mitchell. Accessed December 2006
- ^ "Porcelain seized by Nazis goes up for auction in New York". The Guardian. 29 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Sotheby's to sell $2m Meissen porcelain collection restituted by Dutch government to heirs of Jewish industrialist". The Art Newspaper. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Curating Provenances: A Fragile Past Meissen porcelain from the Oppenheimer family, V&A Provenance Research Seminar, Learning Centre, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2SL,17 May 2023, 16:00– 17:30pm". www.lootedart.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
The Meissen porcelain brought together by Margarethe and Franz Oppenheimer formed one of the most important collections of Early Meissen in the world. They collected from their home in the Tiergartenviertel in Berlin in the early 20th century but were forced to sell their collection when they fled the Nazi regime.The collection ended up in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where it was displayed as part of the famous collection of Decorative Arts of Fritz Mannheimer. In 2021 the collection was restituted to the heirs of the Oppenheimers, following a claim submitted to the Dutch Restitution Commission. The collection was consequently sold at auction.
- ^ "Royal Collection". Archived from the original on March 30, 2014.
- ^ Greenberger, Michael (2019). Early Meissen Porcelain: The Michael Greenberger Collection.
References
- ISBN 1850292515
- Le Corbellier, Clare, Eighteenth-century Italian porcelain, 1985, Metropolitan Museum of Art, (fully available online as PDF)
- Ducret, S. German Porcelain and Faience. 1962.
- Greenberger, Michael. Early Meissen Porcelain: The Michael Greenberger Collection. New York, NY, 2019.
- Roentgen, R.E.: The Book of Meissen. Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, USA 2nd edition, 1996.
- Rückert, R. Meissner Porzellan 1710–1820. 1966.
- Walcha, O. Meissner Porzellan 1975.
- Walcha, O.; Helmut Reibig [editor], "Meissen Porcelain." G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1981.
Further reading
- Naumann, Günter (2020). "Die Entwicklung der keramischen Industrie in Sachsen von ihren Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart" [The development of the ceramic industry in Saxony from its beginnings up to the present]. from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-19. (16 pages)