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Berlin. Part of tea service. About 1770.
(Courtesy, Louvre Museum, Paris)
Few of the Dresden decorating establishments have
produced artistic porcelain, but all enjoy the prestige of
their location. The word "Dresden," therefore, is a
generic term which applies to any piece of porcelain
painted in the city or its environs. On the other hand,
there is only one Meissen factory. Meissen set the
European pattern of hard-paste porcelain and left the
print of its influence on the factories which followed.
The second hard-paste porcelain factory, which is con-
sidered a German enterprise, was founded at Vienna in
1718 by Claudius du Paquier. It was operated as a pri-
vate concern until 1744, when it was taken over by the
Austrian state. Under John J. Niedermeyer, chief modeler
from 1747 to 1784, it produced a variety of graceful
figurines and groups, including shepherds, lovers, hawk-
ers hunters, musicians and all manner of allegorical
and Biblical characters, primarily in rococo style, clean
and fresh, with pale brown, violet and yellow pre-
doominating.
Konrad Sorgenthal, who directed the factory from 1784
to 1805, is responsible for the characteristic richly deco-
ratesi dinner and tea services, vases and plates inspired
by Greek, Roman and Egyptian models in neo-classical
style. The artistic production of Vienna declined in the
19th century and the institution closed its doors in 1864
after operating for almost a century and a half.
W ITTH ROYAL PATRONAGE, the third German porce-
W lain factory was established at Hoechst, now a
suburb of Frankfurt, in 1746. Its best period of artistic
production was from 1767 to 1779, when the modeling of
the great young sculptor, Johann P. Melchior, received
Popular acclaim. Melchior's figurines and groups were
warns, animated and often sentimental. They included
religious subjects, children, pastoral and harvest scenes
and mythological characters supported on grassy mound
or moss-covered rock bases.
The early figures were painted in pink, blue and
Spotted patterns, while the later productions were in
darker colors. Like the other old factories, Hoechst pro-
JUNE 1951
duced tableware and other useful articles, but they were
overshadowed by the fine figures of Melchior. After
50 years of operation the factory closed in 1796.
The Nymphenburg factory was founded in Munich in
1747 under the protection of the Bavarian Elector, Maxi-
milian III. This establishment is particularly famous for
the figurines and groups modeled by Franz Anton Bustelli
between 1754 and 1763. His best known works include
characters from the Italian comedy, coquettish ladies in
crinoline and native costumes, gay gentlemen, busts of
leading personalities, children and groups of peasants
and Asiatic peoples. The figurines are supported by
characteristically flat thin bases which rise in flowing
curves to support the whole delicately balanced com-
position in a fashion never achieved by other modelers.
This factory has operated to the present date in the
Nymphenburg palace grounds in Munich. Unquestionably
one of Germany's outstanding enterprises, Nymphenburg
is the leading porcelain factory in the US Zone.
The Fuerstenberg factory was founded in the castle of
Fuerstenberg near Hanover in 1747 by Karl I, Duke of
Brunswick, primarily to satisfy the vanity of the duke,
who was envious of the other royal porcelain establish-
ments. Among its modelers, Johann S. Feylner (1753-1770)
Nymphenburg. Richly-decorated coffee pot. About 1765.
(Courtesy, Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg)
INFORMATION BULLETIN
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