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Friday, January 22, 2010

I always wanted to know more......

So here is some info for you and me.

"1708 When the white gold was born
In 1708, Johann Friedrich Böttger and his team discovered the secret of the porcelain production, arcanum. Since that time Dresden is known as the cradle of the white gold, which brought wealth and glory for Saxony."

"1872 The foundation of the „Saxon porcelain manufactory of Carl Thieme zu Potschappel-Dresden“
In the 19th century, there were many porcelain painters in Saxony who did their job at home and brought many new impulses to the traditional porcelain art. They creatively decorated white porcelain bought somewhere else. One of them, Carl Thieme, decided to manufacture his own white pieces. For this reason, he founded the today’s Saxon Porcelain Manufactory in Potschappel in the year 1872. On September 17th 1872 he began with the production of decorative porcelain and man-made porcelain. A broken wall bracket was registered as very first model."


"1888 The death of Carl Thieme
One of Thiemes best employees was Karl August Kuntzsch, a talented flower modeller and later his son-in-law and business partner. He founded the big tradition of opulent flower covering which is still very characteristic for Dresden Porcelain. After the death of Thieme he proved himself as a far-sighted entrepreneur who continued the business successfully and introduced Dresden Porcelain to the international markets.
Around 1900 the triumphal course around the world
Kuntzsch travelled to the United States, organised the export throughout Europe and won international awards and medals for example at the international industrial exhibition in Brussels 1897, at the World exposition in Paris in 1900, and various art exhibitions. He made the Dresden Porcelain world-famous."

"1901/02 Registered Trademark
There were different trademarks for Dresden Porcelain in the past. Since 1901, the blue "SP Dresden" (for Saxonian Porcelain Factory Dresden) is a protected trademark guaranteeing the authenticity of Dresden Porcelain."
"Famous Exhibitions
The company often took part in industry, art, and world expositions. Numerous gold medals from Antwerp, Chicago, Paris, or Dresden document not only the high quality of the finished goods but also the significant artistic skills of the modelers, sculptors, and painters. Outlet stores were opened in the European capitals of Berlin, Stockholm, London, and Paris.

1914-1971 Difficult times for the Saxon Porcelain Manufactory
In the first world war, these stores needed to be closed for a time. To replace the missing workers, women were trained and a continuous training program was started. Once Karl August Kuntzsch died in 1920, his two sons took over direction of the company. The industrial town of Potschappel was joined together with other towns in the Plauen area to found the new city of Freital. 
Although Kuntzsch's brothers rebuilt the foreign market, the work force of the factory was reduced to not even one hundred in 1929 due to the impending economic crisis. Reduced working hours became the norm. Enamel plates and key fobs were even produced just to keep the painters employed. When the British court ordered a multi-figured coronation set, crockery, vases, and lamps in 1936, the foreign contacts paid for themselves once again.
Starting in 1936, no gold was allowed to be used on the edges of cups, bowls, boxes, or vases. An inconspicuous gold-brown color was used as a substitute. Luckily, the factory remained untroubled by the Second World War.
After 1945, Emil Alfred Kuntzsch slowly started up production again. Since he didn't want to hand the family business over the the state, he was charged with criminal economic activities under false pretenses and, in 1950, lost control of the factory. The factory was held in trust but slowly transformed into a public work by 1971.

1972-1990 The lost brand
In 1972 the manufactory was transformed completly into a public work. The factory was focused exclusively on exporting their goods at low prices to obtain foreign currencies. This brought a number of orders to the factory. In order to double production capacity, three modern kilns were imported between 1978 and 1980, and up to 1990, between 160 to 180 workers were employed. At the same time, however, the building fell into disrepair.

Reprivatization
After reunification, the factory faced a problem it had never faced before. The company, whose products sold without a problem last year, was now facing foreclosure. As a result, many employees were laid off so that the workforce was reduced by 75%.
For the reprivitization, the factory allowed a French banking consortium to act as a trust. After they went bankrupt, they were bought out by a West German group of companies.

Optimism
After this, two former employees again attempted to protect the company and its 33 employees from closure by putting it back on the market with new concepts. 
Since then, the quality of the finished goods in the painting and sculpting workshop has steadily improved. Form, decor, and techniques have been further developed and, in 1998, the training of specialized staff began again.
Since then, the quality of the finished goods in the painting and sculpting workshop has steadily improved. Form, decor, and techniques have been further developed and, in 1998, the training of specialized staff began again."



I think all the pieces featured in this post 
are stunning and best of all...
CLASSICS.
Now prepare yourself....when you go to the site and look around....
it is more like pieces at granny's place.
I don't really know where these gorgeous pieces are hidden, and I love them!
NOT SO MUCH the granny stuff.

Do you like this Dresden Porcelain?
Did you know 
the info about the white gold ?

To Shop go here.  or just go to the site if you want to know more.
It is a great site.
Other credits are from A.D.

And if you are reading this and it is 
Saturday or Sunday....think of me. 
Please send me good thoughts, for I will be in 
'Retail Hell'.


Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her BLOG.....

Interior Design, Palm Beach, Boca Raton,Ft.Lauderdale,Design Service, Window Treatments, TurnKey Interior Design Service,Paint selection, Floor-Plans,Online Interior Design,
Design Center of The Americas, D.C.O.T.A., Dresden Porcelain, white gold
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8 comments:

  1. Love this story & the porcelin. Nice, thank you for the lesson.
    Leslie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fabulous post Miss Renee, I've learnt lots thanks. Being a simple kinda gal, the blue & white pieces win my heart. I'm not really into the heavily ornate porcelain with the gold embellishments, but I can appreciate the workmanship that goes into them.
    Millie ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, you are right...they are stunning pieces. Thanks for the background history...interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A passion expressed well, that is you lovely blog for me. I'll call often.
    Warm regards,
    Simone

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow... blow my mind...this is really amazing to learn... and yes, i am thinking of my friend in retail hell... it will be over soon.... chin up xx pam

    ReplyDelete
  6. You put alot of work into this post. It is very educational
    to say the least. I love the big
    jardiniere's or urns too.
    I can't believe it wasn't bombed in world war two. The Capi de Monte factory got bombed in Italy.

    Excellent, post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. well, it is official.
    this is not a popular post.
    i know....you guys want something juicy.
    not to worry.
    i am working on it.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Renee
    Fascinating history... and wonderfully put together...
    I think like Millie I prefer the simple blue & white pieces best. Hope you have a great week xx Julie

    ReplyDelete


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About Renée Finberg

I have been in this business since the age of 22.

I love what I do and cannot imagine my life without Design.

Design Challenges are great.

And because of those challenges

I have imported fine antique pieces from Paris,

Designed and Manufactured Furniture,

Created Fantastic Window Treatments,

And solved all kinds of spatial & architectural issues

With my unique style.

If I can't find it, I create it.

My rooms would make excellent movie sets.

I am a visual, tactile and audio sensitive individual.

Creating is what I live for, not math, not spelling, not science.

Just Great Design.

Just imagine how it would be if each of us,

If only for a few hours of everyday,We could be in a space that is our very own.A place that is exactly the way we want it to be

Surrounded by all the things we wanted to see,

The atmosphere we wanted feel, smell and the sound we wanted to listen to.

Private Paradise

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Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her Adventures in Design by Renee Finberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.reneefinberg.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at reneefinberg@gmail.ocm.

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