White gold

After centuries of imitating imported Asian porcelains in other materials, J.F. Böttger, an alchemist working at the Dresden court of Augustus the Strong, became the first European to make this highly coveted 'white gold'. Capitalising on this discovery, Augustus founded the Meissen factory, where 'hard-paste' porcelain of the Chinese type was made from 1713. Although Meissen made enormous efforts to protect its secrets, industrial spies and defecting workmen took their knowledge of the formulas and processes to Vienna and Venice, laying the foundations for a European-wide hard-paste porcelain industry.

The experimental years

Before it was able to produce white porcelain, for a few years the Meissen factory made a brown stoneware inspired by Chinese redwares. Known today as 'Böttger stoneware', the basic material could be lapidary-polished, painted in imitation of lacquer or left undecorated. Shapes for Böttger stoneware and the early undecorated porcelains were copied from Asian ceramics or designed by the Dresden court silversmith, J.J. Irminger.

Enamelling

Once porcelain production had been achieved, the Meissen factory was faced with a further challenge: to master the enamelling technique necessary to decorate the wares. Initially this work was contracted to the Dresden enameller, J.G. Funke. However, in 1720, J.G. Höroldt was recruited from the rival Vienna factory. Under his direction, the processes were mastered and a distinctive style of enamelling introduced.

Independent enamellers

The high cost of Meissen's enamelled wares encouraged small decorating workshops to buy plain white Meissen porcelain and enamel or gild it for resale. Such independent enamellers were known by the German term hausmaler ('house painter'). They often decorated a range of materials, including Meissen and Asian porcelain, tin-glazed earthenware and glass.

Meissen's secrets revealed