Page 159 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

hard paste porcelain of the Chinese type. Böttger worked as an alchemist in Dresden

under the direction of Augustus the Strong. 198 The highly coveted discovery was known

as “white gold,” because the secret of porcelain was considered as valuable as gold

within Europe. The discovery led to Augustus the Strong founding the Meissen factory,

which successfully created hard paste porcelain as early as 1713. Examples of these

Meissen successes can be found throughout British collections. One example at the

British Museum dates to about 1725 and imitates a blue-and-white plate detailed with

traditional Chinese iconography (Figure 56). The inclusion of plum branches correlates

to Chinese imagery, creating a distinct connection between the porcelain produced in the

West and the porcelain produced in the East. In this instance, it is clear that even though

the West had the capacity to create porcelain, it was still more desirable to have Chinese

porcelain. Due to the continued popularity of Chinese porcelain, factories like Meissen

worked to produce wares that were influenced by Chinese styles.

As the formula for Meissen’s hard paste porcelain slowly spread throughout

Europe, other ceramics companies tried to gain access to the porcelain industry. By

1745, British factories emerged in London, Bristol, Derby, and Worcester to create

“Chinese”-inspired porcelain. 199 Although these factories attempted to create Chinese

wares, they often did not match the same standards as porcelain from China. While clear

evidence for new British porcelain enterprises existed, it was also apparent that the low

198 Ströber, La Maladie de Porcelaine, 9. Despite European kilns attempting to replicate Chinese
porcelain, they were unable to accurately capture the look of porcelain with the materials
available to them. The only way to replicate the porcelain was to capture the external appearance
that often meant utilizing a tin-glaze that created the same color tonality.
199 Hilary Young, “Manufacturing Outside the Capital: The British Porcelain Factories, Their
Sales Networks and Their Artists, 1745–1795,” Journal of Design History 12, no. 3 (January 1,
1999): 258, https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/12.3.257.

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