Continental Porcelain in Continental Style

There are some differences between the Englishfor his opinion.
and the Continental porcelain. They are different inContinental Porcelain Factories
their designs, styles and their paintings, printingsGermany
and impressions. We will be looking at some theseDresden (Saxony), East Germany
differences below.In the year 1707, Johann Bottger, an alchemist,
CONTINENTAL porcelain differs essentially fromwas investigating the possibility of making gold,
English in that it was in nearly every instance,when his services were enlisted to discover what
either at first or eventually, hard-paste. Evenseemed at the time an equally insoluble secret;
those factories that began with pseudo-glasshow to make porcelain to rival the Oriental ware
soft-paste turned in the end to true hardthen being imported into Europe in quantity. As a
porcelain.result of his successful experiments in making a
Marks are much more frequent than on Englishhard red ware, he was able to make a white one,
pieces, but have to be treated with suspicion asand on 23rd January 1710 the Royal Saxon
they stayed in use over long periods and wereManufactory was established. It was in an old
copied freely. The supremacy of Dresden inducedfortress at Meissen, near Dresden in Saxony, and
many makers, on the Continent as well as inthere it remained for nearly 150 years. The
England, to mark their wares with the crossedporcelain produced since 1710 is called Meissen in
swords or with the AR monogram.Germany and the United States, Dresden in
Just as in England there were 'outside decorators',England, and Saxe in France, and was the first to
in Germany and Austria there were 'Hausmalers'be made in Europe in the Oriental manner from a
(literally, home painters), who bought unpaintedfused mixture of minerals.
ware and decorated it themselves in their ownFrom the start, both the red and the white wares
individual styles. Many of these men werewere made in quantity, but examples of them are
excellent artists and did work of high quality, butvery rare today. The former were often
they were not popular with the factories. Atdecorated on the lapidary's wheel, the polished
Dresden, all pieces sold in the white after aboutparts appearing as if glazed. A few figures were
1760 had one or more short lines cut through themade, but the output was principally cups and
crossed swords to indicate that they werebowls, and many of these in white porcelain had
imperfect. While many of the imperfections werecolored decoration.
only slight, they were sufficient to make the wareBottger died in 1719, and from then onwards
unfit for decorating by the factory painters.there were numerous changes in both personnel
It should be remembered that many Continentaland output, culminating in the appointment of
factories are still in production and re-useJohann Kandler as modeler in 1731. It was
eighteenth-century moulds of their own and otherKandler's creation of dozens of brilliant figures and
makers' wares. Often they mark themgroups that spread the fame of Meissen
appropriately, and it is far from easy for thethroughout Europe, and inspired modelers of
novice to distinguish between old and new. Carefulevery nation.
examination of genuine pieces and a comparisonSome of the differences between the English and
of them with modern copies are the only waysthe continental porcelains distinguish one from the
to recognize and learn the difference. It mayother. Inspite of the differences between the
comfort the puzzled beginner to know that fiftyEnglish and the continental styles and designs they
years ago a director of the Sevres factorycompliments each other and they have some
confessed he was completely unable to distinguishsimilarities as well in their shapes and sizes with
old from new when some doubtful pieces fromminor changes.
the Victoria and Albert Museum were submitted