Meissen Porcelain
18th century

The Meissen porcelain is the German hard-paste, or true, porcelain produced at the Meissen factory, near Dresden in Saxony (now Germany), from 1710 until the present day. It was the first successfully produced true porcelain in Europe and dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756. The high point of the Meissen factory was reached after 1731 with the modeling of Johann Joachim Kandler. The onion pattern, introduced 1739, was widely copied. Meissen porcelain is marked with crossed blue swords.

The Meissen porcelain was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his untimely death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market, and he has often been credited with the invention.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Tea bowl and saucer
1725
Porcelain, height 4,3 cm (bowl), 12,3 cm (saucer)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

900*709
True Color
69 Kb



Purple-Ground Baluster Vase and Cover
c. 1730
Porcelain, height 40 cm
Private collection

544*749
True Color
29 Kb



Teapot
c. 1735
Porcelain, height 11 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

900*664
True Color
48 Kb



Teapot
c. 1740
Porcelain, height 7,5 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

826*600
True Color
34 Kb




Summary of earthenwares
Delft | Meissen | Sèvres
Wedgwood | Zsolnay | Various
List of known ceramicists