Meissen porcelain: history and characteristics

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

One of the characteristic features of a reasonable person is a craving for beauty. At the same time, for many people it is not enough just to admire beautiful objects of art - they also strive to own them. It is from here that "legs grow" in such a popular hobby as collecting. An important place in the structure of this hobby is the collection of porcelain. The greatest interest is caused by antique products of European brands. We will tell you about one of them in this article.

Meissen porcelain: photos and highlights

Porcelain is a ceramic product that is widely used by people in everyday life, art, and architecture. The Chinese invented this artificial material in the 7th century. However, the method of obtaining porcelain was unknown to Europeans for another thousand years! And only in 1708 the Saxon alchemist I. F. Bettger managed to open it for Europe. Thus was born the famous Meissen porcelain (Meissen).

From the first years of its existence, Meissen porcelain has gained incredible popularity. It was collected by princes and kings, rich people and presidents. Every self-respecting connoisseur of beauty sought to have a product of this manufactory in his collection.

Meissen porcelain always makes a very strong impression with its appearance. What is the secret of this product? There are three main reasons for its popularity:

• The use of unique paints, the recipes of which are still strictly classified.
• The use of exclusively hand-painted in the design of figurines and sets.
• Involving the best artists, sculptors and engravers in the design of products.

By the way, today the Meissen Bouquet porcelain service is quite popular. However, it has nothing to do with the oldest manufactory in Europe, described in our article. This service is a product of the famous Czech brand Bernadotte.

Another interesting fact: there is a special variety of violet - "Meissen porcelain". It is distinguished by abundant and very beautiful flowering. Violet flowers are matte white with wavy blue edging and really resemble the products of a famous German plant.

A Brief History of the Meissen Manufactory

The first porcelain factory in Europe opened in the summer of 1710 in the city of Meissen (Meissen) in eastern Germany. Production was established in a powerful, well-fortified castle, which has survived to this day. The alchemist Johann Friedrich Bettger was imprisoned in it.

Monarch of Saxony Augustus the Strong ordered him to get the gold. But none of Bettger's experiments in this direction were successful. But he managed to "rediscover" hard porcelain, the secret of which the Chinese kept for centuries intop secret.

In secular Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, porcelain was valued slightly less than gold. It is curious that such a valuable discovery of Bettger was not appreciated in any way. He was left as a prisoner and died at the age of 38. Tourists and visitors to the Meissen castle are still being frightened by the ghost of the inventor of porcelain.

Meissen porcelain in Europe very quickly became a cult object, and real money streams flowed into the treasury of Saxony. Thanks to their high quality and bright colors, the products of the Meissen manufactory soon won worldwide fame. By the way, about 40% of Saxon porcelain was purchased by nobles from the Russian Empire.

Meissen factory: artists and styles

The European invention of porcelain coincided with the spread of such a style in art as Rococo. Of course, this could not but be reflected in the appearance of the products of the Meissen manufactory at an early stage. In addition, the Saxon elector was fascinated by Chinese porcelain. Therefore, the chinoiserie style was clearly visible in Meissen products.

Worked by the artists of the Meissen manufactory and in the Japanese style kakiemon. At the same time, Karl Geroldt significantly expanded the color palette of this direction. Hugo Stein, William Baring and Hermann Zeilinger entered the history of the factory as the authors of the original underglaze painting of dinner sets and vases.

In general, dozens of eminent European artists have worked and continue to work at the Meissen porcelain factory. Among them: Erich Hesel, Heinrich Schwabe, Peter Reinicke, Paul Scheurich,Alexander Struck, Heinz Werner. And this is not a complete list of craftsmen who contributed to the development of the manufactory.

Meissen Porcelain Today

The mark of Meissen porcelain for many years has become the standard of the highest quality and unsurpassed decoration. It looks like two crossed blue sabers. Since the 1720s, the brand of the plant has changed several times (how exactly - see the next photo).

Today, half of Meissen porcelain products are sets. Another 35% are various sculptures, figurines and figurines. The rest of the products are special tiles for artistic panels. It is important to note that the target audience of the porcelain factory has changed little over the past three centuries. Meissen services are still bought only by high-ranking persons and the rich.

Meissen porcelain is more than 175 thousand items of various products and about 10,000 colors and shades. Selected products of the plant are stored today in the Dresden Museum, the Metropolitan, the Louvre, the Hermitage, the Tretyakov Gallery. By the way, the first samples of Meissen porcelain came to Russia in 1728. In exchange, Princess Elisabeth gave them several polar bears, which the Elector of Saxony needed for his personal menagerie.

Meissen porcelain figurines

Porcelain figurines are one of the main products of the Meissen manufactory. Among the sculptors of the German factory, Paul Scheurich deserves special mention. He has more than a hundred figurines and compositions created in the Art Deco style. Not lessthe creations of Peter Reinecke and Johann Kaendler enjoyed success.

The latter created the famous "Monkey Orchestra" collection, consisting of 22 figurines of monkey musicians. Each of them plays their own instrument. There are singers among them. The Monkey Orchestra collection is of great value among porcelain collectors and admirers.

It is important to note that the price of figurines from the Meissen Porcelain Factory is quite high. It depends, first of all, on the age of a particular product and its circulation. In general, prices for original Meissen figurines start at 30 thousand and reach three or more million rubles.

A little bit about onion decor

The so-called "onion decor" is an original hand-painted bright blue color. Its author is considered the artist of the Meissen manufactory Johann Kretshmar. Today, onion decor is known throughout the world and is associated with the Meissen trademark. The main elements of this unique painting include the following:

• Lotus.
• Bamboo.
• Peony.
• Chrysanthemum.
• Peach.
• Garnet.

By the way, Kretshmar's pomegranate looked more like an onion (the master simply did not know how this outlandish fruit actually looks like). That is why the painting was jokingly called "onion" or "onion".

Panel "Procession of Kings"

Telling about Meissen porcelain, one cannot fail to mention the "Procession of the Kings". This is a grandiose wall panel in Dresden, whichwas laid out from 25 thousand tiles made at the Meissen factory. The composition is 102 meters long and 9.5 meters high.

The panel was created at the beginning of the 20th century. It depicts 95 people. Among them are the kings and electors of Saxony, margraves, scientists, artists, soldiers, peasants and children. There are also horses and dogs in the picture. Almost all participants in this procession are men. The female gender is represented by only one girl at the very end of the panel.

Meissen porcelain: how to spot a fake

It is important to understand one truth: it is almost impossible to find original products from the Meissen factory at the so-called "flea markets". Including German flea markets. But there are a lot of fakes out there!

How can you determine the authenticity of a Meissen cup or figurine? First of all, you should pay attention to the stigma. It was applied with blue cob alt paint on each product and exclusively under the glaze (that is, even before the porcelain firing process). It is curious that the most common way to forge Meissen porcelain is to put the word "MEISSEN" on the product instead of the traditional image of two crossed sabers.

However, there are more sophisticated and skillful fakes, which only experienced specialists can determine.