Page 153 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

increased as time progressed, with these early individuals serving as the foundation for

later trends 190 .

Royal collectors in Europe invested substantial sums of their countries’ wealth in

order to participate in porcelain collecting. The best researched of these collectors was

Augustus the Strong (1670–1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, who amassed

one of the largest collections of Chinese porcelain in the world. 191 Augustus specifically

collected porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The porcelain was displayed en

masse in rooms known as “porcelain rooms.” These porcelain rooms were often filled

with niches similar to those found in East Asian porcelain collections (Section 3.1, Figure

43), creating a sense of opulence based on the sheer volume of objects filling a

designated space. Augustus’ collection inspired later collectors to display their own

objects in rooms, cabinets, and atop furniture throughout the home. By 1719, Augustus

had collected more than 20,000 pieces of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. This

collection eventually became the foundation of the Royal Porcelain Collection of

Dresden, which continues to display a large portion of the porcelain pieces Augustus

acquired. 192

British royal interest in porcelain collecting was similar to that exhibited by

th
Augustus, with the primary collector of the 17 century being Mary II (1662–1694).

190 Dutch and Portuguese porcelain trade was established with China during the 16 century.
th
Early collections appear similar to early British collections, with a strong focus on blue-and-white
export porcelain. However, collections originating in differing cultures exhibited unique trends.
Further research is required to establish a comprehensive understanding of these variations.
191 Eva Ströber, La Maladie de Porcelaine (Berlin: State Art Collections Dresden, Porcelain
Collection, 2001), 9.
192 Jan Van Campen and Titus m. Eliens, Chinese and Japanese Porcelain for the Dutch Golden
Age (Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2014). The earliest wares within this collection date to around
1709.

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