For the English-speaking population of the Earth, porcelain and China are twin brothers; they are denoted by the same word “china”. The Chinese invented the composition of hard porcelain back around the 6th century, i.e. a thousand years before it was produced in Europe. For a long time, along with the production of silk, porcelain remained one of the most forbidden and desired mysteries of the East for Western rulers. Trying to solve it is akin to a real detective story, because whoever dared to do this in China faced only one sentence - death.
The secret of Chinese porcelain
Missionary, Father D. Entrecoll, who visited in the 17th century. China with the express purpose of finding out secrets of porcelain production, managed to obtain only the most basic information, which could not serve as a basis for setting up a new production.
Russia also did not lag behind in this espionage activity. For a large sum of money, they managed to bribe one Chinese master, who gave out porcelain secret Siberian industrialist Kursin. However, the cunning Chinese apparently still left something unsaid, because... Kursin was never able to obtain porcelain, although he carried out experiments in its production.
How many such examples are hidden behind the layers of past years, we can only guess. The secret was apparently found out in the end, but the name of the hero remains unknown to this day.
Masters have found a way to make porcelain
Its history goes back more than three thousand years. But the very beginning of porcelain production on an industrial scale dates back to approximately the 6th-7th centuries, when technology was improved and, by selecting components, products began to be produced that were distinguished by the whiteness and thinness of the shard. According to legend, the ancient Chinese could not decide on the material for making dishes: jade was expensive and sacrilegious, clay was ugly and short-lived, wood was not aesthetically pleasing.
Then quite by accident masters found a way to make porcelain... And this method remained a big and carefully kept secret for the rest of the world. One of the components of this big secret is the raw materials from which porcelain is made. Jiangxi province turned out to be a treasure trove of porcelain stone - a rock consisting of quartz and mica. Porcelain mass made from briquetted powder porcelain stone and kaolin(special clay, gives whiteness to the product). The resulting semi-finished product was kept for decades to acquire plasticity. After this, the next step was a kiln, the high temperature in which, during firing, changes the physical composition of the mass, it becomes transparent and waterproof. Already at the beginning of our era, Chinese potters built kilns capable of creating the required temperature, there is archaeological evidence of this. And for a special matte shine, the glaze was made up of several layers of different transparency.
In the first century AD, a city in Jiangxi Province appeared porcelain workshops, this city later became known under the name Jingdezhen How capital of Chinese porcelain, because historically this area is the birthplace of porcelain and the place of its constant development and improvement. Porcelain products from Jingdezhen always different high quality. Ancient sources say that “they were as dazzling as snow, thin as a sheet of paper, strong as metal.”
Some of the earliest evidence that has survived to this day porcelain production, are finds of pottery shards during excavations in Mesopotamia of the city of Samarra, which arose and was destroyed in the 9th century. This gives us the right to confidently attribute invention of Chinese porcelain to the Tang period, and the historical situation suggests that the largest inventions were invented at this time.
The first half of the Tang dynasty from 618 to 907 AD is a period of great growth in the history of feudal China. Significant political development, accompanied by a huge expansion of territory, led China to rapprochement with other states. At this time there is brisk trade in southern China. The emergence of trading colonies of foreign merchants in Canton - Persians, Arabs, Jews, Greeks - testifies to the scope and well-established maritime trade. Trade with Japan was carried out through eastern ports, and with Western Asia and Europe trade was carried out along the Great Silk Road.
The first products made from Chinese porcelain
The first known Chinese porcelain products there were slender elongated vessels with a polished surface, blue and especially valuable pale green vases with relief ornaments, which in Europe were called celadon. These items date back to the Tang (7th-10th centuries) and Song (10th-13th centuries) eras. Then came the milky-white “bei-ding” vessels from Dingzhou, the blue “zhu-yao” vessels, and the glazed “jin-yao” vessels from Henan province.
Beginning in the 14th century during the Ming era (14th-17th centuries), leading porcelain manufacturing center becomes Jingdezhen, where the production of products decorated with lead glazes of three colors (sancai) or underglaze blue painting, which was often combined with overglaze painting (doucai), was established. It was the porcelain of this period (mostly blue and white), produced in large quantities, that came to Western Europe, where it immediately attracted Europeans with its technical and artistic perfection, extreme richness of forms and decoration.
The best examples of Chinese porcelain
In different historical periods chinese porcelain had his best examples. For example, the famous Jiongqi porcelain Henan province, characterized by a reddish sheen, tints of blue, violet and white flowers and transparency is the best Song Dynasty porcelain. During this period (10th-12th centuries) were made great success in the manufacture of porcelain products. An example is Yaobian brand porcelain, which is of very high quality. Such porcelain could compete with gold and jade in value and sophistication. The most famous at that time were the products of the Dehua and Longquan workshops.
Famous blue Qingqi porcelain, made in the Longqingyao porcelain kiln in Zhejiang province. It was said that its blueness was like jade, its purity was like a mirror, and the sound it made when touched was like the sound of Qing. This is an ancient drum musical instrument in the form of a curved plate made of jade, stone or copper. Since the Song Dynasty, blue porcelain products have been widely purchased in East Asia, Europe, America and Arab countries. For example, today in Turkey, the Istanbul Museum houses more than a thousand pieces of blue Longquan porcelain from the Song, Yuan, Ming and other dynasties.
The dawn of Chinese porcelain production. Chinese porcelain appeared in Europe
In the XIII-XIV centuries porcelain production in China reached its peak, and porcelain began to spread widely throughout the world, thanks to Christian monks who brought chinese porcelain to Europe. In the 16th century, only Chinese porcelain was sold in Europe, which was transported across the continent, calling it “chinaware” and valued at its weight in gold. Imported, rare porcelain became a treasure. Ladies wore porcelain shards like beads on a gold chain. Gradually, instead of the term “chinaware” (Chinese products), Europeans began to use the term “porcelain” from “porcellana” - the name of a mollusk that had a transparent, mother-of-pearl shell. These two names have survived to this day.
Porcelain production in China always had two directions - export, which was a major source of state income, and domestic, for the needs of the imperial court and the nobility. These directions differed significantly from each other both in form and decoration. For example, by order of the emperor, 31,000 dishes, 16,000 plates with dragons, and 18,000 cups were produced annually. And for Europe, luxurious vases, ceremonial dishes and sets were required, which were not so much used as they were displayed as outlandish jewelry that raised the status of their owner. Particularly famous, and many have survived to this day, are the products made during the reign of the Kangxi Emperors (1662-1722) and his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799), which were distinguished by particularly lush, polychrome decor and were called the green family, pink family, as well as the yellow family.
This porcelain began to be exported in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to Western Europe. These products, named after the predominance of the corresponding tone, were attracted by the refinement of their forms and the cleanliness of the surface. Products made from the so-called flaming porcelain with flambé glaze captivated people with the colorfulness of their surface. In connection with the export of porcelain to the West, the subject matter of painting began to expand - subjects borrowed from the West appeared on products.
What did Europe demand? First of all - palace sets, large wall dishes. All these ceremonial items were made specifically for Europe with national exotic motifs. Items that were used only in Europe were also made. In imitation of the silver coffee pot, unusual porcelain coffee pots and shaving basins were created, similar to the European copper razor basin. They made candlesticks, clocks, candelabra and sets for setting a European table: plates for cutting cheese, sugar bowls.
Decorative painting was valued higher than the vases, jugs and sets themselves. The main motifs of the painting were various flowers (peonies, chrysanthemums, traditional lotus), pine branches, birds and animals, dragons. The fascination with the East was so great that the “Chinese room” or “Chinese pavilion” (Palace of Catherine II in Oranienbaum) was in almost every palace in Europe, Russia and the Middle East. And having at least a couple of porcelain vases was considered a manifestation of good taste and was an indicator of the wealth of the owners of the house.
Medici porcelain
The first breakthrough in porcelain production occurred in Florence during the reign of Francesco di Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who reigned from 1575 to 1597, using a kiln designed by Bountalenti and Fontana. Production has started faux porcelain, known as "Medici porcelain".
In 1575, by the will of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco di Medici, a soft porcelain manufactory was established in the famous Florentine Boboli Gardens. The so-called Medici porcelain, which in its properties occupied a middle position between hard and soft porcelain, was, although transparent thanks to white clay from Vicenza, yellowish, and therefore the white glaze was used, already familiar from majolica production.
Approximately 50 authentic items have been preserved - plates, dishes, trays, field and pilgrim flasks, vases, washbasins and jugs. They are decorated either with stylized flowers modeled on the decor on Persian ceramics, or with branches and grotesques with birds, four-eyed eyes and mascarons borrowed from modern Italian ceramics, while the decor is made of cobalt, sometimes combined with bluish-purple paint made from manganese oxide. The manufactory operated until the first quarter of the 17th century inclusive. Medici porcelain stamp- “F” and above it the dome of the Florence Cathedral is blue.
In the history of porcelain production Medici porcelain just an episode. It was followed by other attempts - in England (Dr. Dwight and Francis Place, both in the 2nd half of the 17th century) and in France (Rouen, Saint-Cloud). This ongoing search has been stimulated since the beginning of the 17th century by the significantly stronger import of Far Eastern porcelain. Until the beginning of the 18th century, all attempts, however, remained unsuccessful.
Composition of hard porcelain
Circa 1700 problem white and translucent porcelain technically still had not been resolved: they did not know chemical composition hard porcelain with its specific properties.
TO end of XVII century physicist and mathematician Count Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus carried out extensive geological research in Saxony. His goal was to find raw materials that could give this country a solid economic foundation. At the same time, he was developing a construction plan here and looking for appropriate refractory material for glass melting furnaces. Having become interested in the problems of the composition of hard porcelain, he continued his experiments with already known positive results.
In 1704 he was entrusted with control over the activities of the young Böttger, whom King Augustus then kept in custody in Meissen. Fruitful collaboration between an old, experienced scientist and a capable young man, which lacked only the right leadership, ultimately leads to a solution to the question of the necessary composition solid faffrore mass. Johann Friedrich Böttger began by devoting himself entirely to alchemical experiments during his studies in Berlin, achieving a certain recognition in this.
Having heard about Böttger, the Prussian king Frederick I decided to use him for his own purposes. He longed to continue his experiments and studies and, fearing for his freedom, fled in 1701 to Wittenberg, where this time he found himself under the authority of the Saxon Elector and Polish King Augustus the Strong, who ordered him to be taken to Dresden and placed under supervision there. Bötger's service required him to prepare gold. Working together with the serious Tschirnhaus was an advantage for him. In response to the threats of the dissatisfied Augustus, who was waiting for positive results, Bötger volunteered to set up a hard faience manufactory, and in 1707 he was actually provided with the necessary funds for this.
Founded in 1708, the manufactory was to produce ceramic goods modeled on the hard and smooth "stone casting" of Arie de Milde in Holland. This type of ceramics was made from clay from Plauen containing iron oxide. When fired, it became reddish-brown and acquired such hardness that the product could be further processed by grinding, cutting, etc. Both scientists working together continued to look for ways to obtain hard porcelain. Tschirnhaus no longer learned the successful results of experiments in this direction - he died in October 1708.
The first European hard porcelain manufactory
In March 1709, Bötger finally achieved his goal, using the same raw materials for the glaze as for the shard, thereby achieving an absolute fusion of the shard and the glaze. After an additional check with the participation of a commission that gave a positive conclusion on the discovery, the first European manufactory was launched in January 1710 in the Meissen fortress of Albrechtsburg hard porcelain. Bötger managed the manufactory until his death in 1719. Johann Gregor Herold, who marked the “picturesque period,” was appointed artistic director after him. Under him, the sculptor Johann Gottlieb Kirchner worked in Meissen from 1727, and a master fashion designer from 1730. In 1733, Kirchner's place was taken by Johann Joachim Kändler, who, on the path of plastic design, brought European porcelain to its own form, independent from others.
In addition to expensive, exquisite tableware, craftsmen created charming small figurines and sculptural groups in the Rococo tradition. As a rule, the dishes were painted with images of animals and birds, portraits, and everyday sketches, which captivated viewers with the exquisite delicacy of the colors. But the Meissen masters were especially successful at the “gallant festivities” - siennas, which presented the refined entertainment of aristocrats. These are amazing compositions with witty plot solutions, danceable ease of character movements, and fast-paced action. They amaze with the fullness of life, harmony of feelings and refinement of form.
Since 1744, Camillo Marcolini became the head of the porcelain factory, under which production gradually declined. Products from the 19th century are artistically less significant.
Among other important factories, mention should be made of the third largest European factory, founded in Venice in 1720 by Giovanni Vezzi, which was closed some time later, in 1727, due to financial problems. In addition, mention should be made of the Vinovo porcelain factory near Turin, which was patronized by the royal Savvoi family, as well as the production in Doccia near Florence, founded by the Marquis Carlo Ginori in 1735, which is still in operation today.
Soon gains worldwide recognition french porcelain, produced by the Sèvres porcelain factory, porcelain factories are also developing in Venice. Porcelain from European manufactories was richly decorated - painted with birds, flowers, hunting scenes or fruits.
All that remained was to find the main raw material: kaolin
On August 15, 1769 (the day on which Napoleon was born), a certain madame, the wife of a pharmacist from the town of Limoges, went to the river to wash clothes. Apparently, things were not going well for the pharmacist, since the woman used sand when doing laundry. The lady's attention was attracted by a piece of clay, which gave the linen an "exceptional whitening effect."
Already there, on the river next to the Clos de Bar field, the idea of a small soap factory was born in the woman’s head. A couple of hours later, the pharmacist stood up from the table and said: “This is kaolin! We are millionaires, dear!” Or something like this...
Soon the first ceramic factory was built, then the second, and already in 1771 the once provincial town of Limoges (the center of the God-forsaken region of Limousin) was called the “European capital” for the first time. porcelain production. The city has become a center of attraction for the greatest masters and artists, a source of talent ceramic production.
The first deposits were discovered in 1755 near the city of Aleson, and only in 1768 were its deposits found in Saint-Yrieux near Limoges. Now incomparable French porcelain could be born, become the best and go to conquer the whole world. In 1769, the Manufacture of Sèvres presented the first products made of hard porcelain to the court of King Louis XV. And already in 1772, the Royal Limoges Manufactory opened its doors.
Turgot, being at that time the Intendant General of the Province of Limousin, considered that it would be logical to build a factory in Limoges for the production of porcelain products. In the surrounding area there were deposits of the best kaolin in Europe and rich forests - the problem of firewood - and firewood was the main type of fuel at that time - was solved by itself. The genius and talents of some individuals did the rest. The Limoges porcelain industry very quickly acquired noble characteristics thanks to the founder porcelain factories"Senel" to Etienne Banel. The plant was founded in 1825.
Production process Limoges porcelain unusually complex. The art of fire and stone, porcelain is obtained from a mixture of various mineral ingredients (their quantities are measured with extreme precision) and several successive firings at high temperatures.
The city of Meissen is located 25 km from Dresden. It is famous not only for its porcelain, but also for its medieval castle.
The Albrechtsburg fortress stands on a high cliff on the banks of the Elbe, built in Meissen in the 15th century as the residence of the Saxon electors.
In 1710, Augustus the Strong ordered the establishment of the first European porcelain manufactory here, which was located in the castle until 1863. Nowadays there are tours of the porcelain factory, and there is also a souvenir shop.
A cool excursion to the Meissen porcelain factory: the group walks through the halls, in each of which there is a master who shows the porcelain production process at one of the stages.
As an accompaniment, a recording is included explaining the process itself in your language. In the photo - a master of painting dishes.
At the factory there is a porcelain museum and, accordingly, a store. The prices there are of course staggering. There is a huge amount of dishes and other porcelain products there, so you feel like a bull in a china shop.
We only relaxed in the cafe at the museum. We drank tea from Meissen porcelain and ate a cake with skewers, that’s all we could afford -))
Crossed swords are an ancient trademark of Meissen porcelain. Blue swords, taken from the Saxon coat of arms, appeared on Meissen porcelain in 1722 and are therefore one of the oldest brands peace.
Today, Meissen produces: porcelain sets 50%, art porcelain 25%, porcelain figurines 15%, exclusive porcelain products of the author's design 10%.
The Meissen porcelain manufactory employs 900 people, of which 450 are artists and sculptors. 60% of Meissen porcelain is sold in Germany, 40% is exported.
Meissen porcelain includes over 175 thousand items of various products and about 10,000 colors and shades.
Selected products of the plant are kept today in the Dresden Museum, the Metropolitan, the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the Tretyakov Gallery. The first samples of Meissen porcelain came to Russia back in 1728.
More posts about Germany.
It's December 30th outside the window and we wake up in Dresden in our cozy room. In the morning we have the Castle Residence planned with Grunes Gevolbe (Green Vaults) and other exhibitions. We went there along the already familiar route by tram. It should be noted that Grunes Gevolbe is one of the richest and most famous jewelry collections in the world and the richest in Europe! Unfortunately, you can’t take photographs in the palace museums, so I can’t show you anything, but if you find yourself in Dresden, be sure to go there!
After the museums, we took the tram, got to our stop, bought hot Saxon pastries and had a little snack in our room. Now, we had to go, already by car, to the nearby but famous city of Meissen (in German it is pronounced Maysen - Meißen, but oh well). This city is located a little over 20 kilometers from Dresden, downstream of the Elbe. I intended to go there along the left bank, so that’s what we did. However, adventures immediately began. The car started up, but the check light came on and it was very rough at idle. Despite this, I decided to go, although from time to time it was very stressful.
If in Dresden there was a confident plus (seven degrees Celsius), then in the shadow of the mountain slopes on the left bank of the Elbe there was frost on everything, and when we stopped to take a couple of shots from a distance, I almost stretched out next to the car, since the parking lot was... I'm a complete skating rink. Actually, in the photo below you can see frost on the grass, despite the fact that it is already near the river, and there is less shadow and warmer there.
In the distance, on a mountain cliff, rises the majestic Albrechtsburg, the residence of the Saxon electors of the Wettin dynasty, built in the 15th century.
And on the opposite bank there are houses of trustworthy burghers.
And there are many vineyards around them, fortunately, that slope is sunny.
Well, we go to Meissen itself.
Having passed almost under the castle itself ( No. 1 on the map), we park in a free public parking lot (on the map it is visible just below the number 3). There are a lot of cars, but we managed to find a place.
The castle is almost hovering above us!
We're trying to find a place to climb...
Gradually walking around the castle in a circle.
Olka found “plant skeletons” on the house and asked to grieve with them. Warning questions, the bottle is not ours! :)
And this is what the houses look like under the castle.
Finally, we find the rise. At the entrance there is a small house, the functional load of which remains unknown to us. We're going up the stairs.
Now, above the roofs of the houses, the opposite shore has already appeared.
The complex of buildings at the top of the ridge is the Franciscan Gymnasium ( No. 5 on the map).
In the background, just to the left of the castle, you can see the Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity (Trinitatiskirche) ( No. 6 on the map), which stands on the site of a pre-Christian Slavic temple. Current building It has been preserved with major alterations since the 13th century. Telephoto allows you to zoom in and capture it in great detail.
I turn my gaze to the right and behind the railway bridge I catch in the viewfinder the spire of the bell tower of the Church of St. John (Johanneskirche) ( No. 7 on the map).
I continue to capture the details of the world around me.
What I almost never participate in is photographs against the backdrop of “something”
And this is a photo of the photographer of the previous photo :)
Panorama without posing individuals :)
Below us is the banquet center of Meissen, in the past the Jacob's chapel (Jacobskapelle) and the Masonic lodge ( No. 3 on the map).
I notice a building with interesting architecture on the other side, zoom in, and the photo is ready. As it turned out later, this is just a hotel - Welcome Parkhotel.
Well, a little more photographic, here is a house taken on the other side of the Elbe, focal length 116
But here are the people under him from a focal length of 500.
It's time for us to go inside the castle. The first thing we will get acquainted with is the Meissen Cathedral ( No. 2 on the map). From below we saw its two tall pseudo-Gothic bell towers, but for now let's go inside.
First we find ourselves in the courtyard. The cathedral itself is an example of pure Gothic architecture. A significant part of the currently visible building was built in the second half of the 13th century. Neo-Gothic bell towers were added at the beginning of the 20th century.
Let's go inside. The scale and grandeur of the structure are amazing!
There are stained glass windows.
Christmas decorations.
Duke's Chapel
There are also killer metal plants in the cathedral.
The model of the cathedral allows us to better appreciate its architecture, sandwiched between the castle fortifications and buildings.
Chapel of All Saints
We leave the cathedral.
Here tourists are busy playing the game “In what other idiotic position can I take a photo?”
And here is the cathedral in all its glory from the side of the new tower.
The city of Meissen is located 25 km from Dresden. It is famous not only for its porcelain, but also for its medieval castle.
The Albrechtsburg fortress stands on a high cliff on the banks of the Elbe, built in Meissen in the 15th century as the residence of the Saxon electors.
In 1710, Augustus the Strong ordered the establishment of the first European porcelain manufactory here, which was located in the castle until 1863. Nowadays there are tours of the porcelain factory, and there is also a souvenir shop.
A cool excursion to the Meissen porcelain factory: the group walks through the halls, in each of which there is a master who shows the porcelain production process at one of the stages.
As an accompaniment, a recording is included explaining the process itself in your language. In the photo - a master of painting dishes.
At the factory there is a porcelain museum and, accordingly, a store. The prices there are of course staggering. There is a huge amount of dishes and other porcelain products there, so you feel like a bull in a china shop.
We only relaxed in the cafe at the museum. We drank tea from Meissen porcelain and ate a cake with skewers, that’s all we could afford -))
Crossed swords are an ancient trademark of Meissen porcelain. Blue swords, taken from the Saxon coat of arms, appeared on Meissen porcelain in 1722 and are therefore one of the oldest trademarks in the world.
Today, Meissen produces: porcelain sets 50%, art porcelain 25%, porcelain figurines 15%, exclusive porcelain products of the author's design 10%.
The Meissen porcelain manufactory employs 900 people, of which 450 are artists and sculptors. 60% of Meissen porcelain is sold in Germany, 40% is exported.
Meissen porcelain includes over 175 thousand items of various products and about 10,000 colors and shades.
Selected products of the plant are kept today in the Dresden Museum, the Metropolitan, the Louvre, the Hermitage, and the Tretyakov Gallery. The first samples of Meissen porcelain came to Russia back in 1728.
More posts about Germany.
A Chinese poet of the 9th century wrote about porcelain: “Sounding like jade, and surpassing the brilliance of frost and snow.” Yes, indeed, real porcelain is white and noble, and it practically does not age. It is not for nothing that in some families porcelain products are passed down from generation to generation, like family silver. What is the value of this material? Of course, in its properties and appearance, and the history of porcelain itself has a lot of interesting and educational. Moreover, each country has its own, special one.
China has given the world many discoveries. His more significant achievements include the appearance of silk fabrics, compasses, gunpowder, paper and, of course, porcelain. And if you look at the whole history, this white, plastic material has come a very long way. Initially there were just clay household items, then ceramics, artistic faience and, finally, porcelain.
At first, the products were not painted or decorated, since their value lay elsewhere. They were sky-white, sonorous, extremely thin with a transparent glaze.
According to centuries-old Chinese traditions, ceramics has two directions: products fired at high temperatures; products fired at low temperatures. And if we break it down by time milestones, then the path developed and improved in the following stages.
- The first pottery was discovered in southern China in the Yuchanyan Cave. The approximate date of its manufacture is 18 thousand years ago. And in the Xianrendong cave, located in Jiangxi province, ceramic shards were found that were created almost 20 thousand years ago. Judging by the shapes, the products were used in everyday life and for ritual ceremonies. They were primitive in design and devoid of any drawings.
- During the Han Dynasty, according to experts, the first true porcelain was produced. This confirms the quality of the material from which the figurines and sculptures were created. Extremely hard and durable. Which, in turn, indicates the use of high-temperature firing even then.
- During the Sui Dynasty, the world saw porcelain in all its external splendor. High-temperature firing made it possible to create products with a three-color range of decor. Masterpieces of color sea wave were made only at low temperatures using a special glaze.
- During the Song Dynasty, porcelain production technology also advanced. Kilns began to be used everywhere, which was the heyday of artistic painting under the glaze. Here and there, products appeared with drawings from precious stones and elements made of valuable metals.
- The Ming Dynasty became famous for its “blue” paintings. Under the reign of Emperor Zhu Zhanji (Xuande), cobalt began to be used in decoration, in combination with a blue, glazed finish, which after firing had a beautiful royal blue color. Many believe that the best porcelain of the dynasty was made during the reign of Zhu Zhanji. Also, by order of another emperor Zhu Di (Yongle), products of that era acquired an Islamic style, had fragments of precious metals and an abundance of gold decoration.
- The Qing Dynasty, under the reign of Emperor Qianlong, finally revealed to the world the secret of porcelain making. The first time this information “leaked” was thanks to the active actions of the French spy Pere François Xavier d’Entrecolles. The second time this happened in 1743, when the Qianlong Emperor himself described in detail the production of porcelain in his memoirs. Part of these memoirs even had the title “20 Illustrations of Porcelain Making.” Thus, China is not only the birthplace of porcelain, it is an entire “porcelain” era, spanning many centuries.
As the legend says, thanks to the incredible love of the Chinese for tea, this wonderful material was created and improved. And, indeed, the taste of tea and coffee differs significantly in ceramic and porcelain cups.
In porcelain dishes, the taste and smell of the drink remains unchanged, as if “pure”.
History of Russian porcelain
Ceramics have been known in Russia since the 10th century. Near the village of Gnezdovo, Smolensk province, fragments of two plates and a mug made of white clay were discovered. How they got there remains a mystery to this day. And production itself and its heyday occurred in the 18th century. True, at first the material itself was more like earthenware due to its technical characteristics.
The stages of development of the porcelain industry in Russia have passed different path. And if we talk about whose enthusiasm they were formed on, then there were two directions: support and financing of the royal family; manufactories and factories on a commercial basis.
In 1724, the merchant of the first guild Afanasy Grebenshchikov opened the first earthenware factory in Moscow. Its products were famous for their massive forms and glaze painting. The products were thick-walled, whitish-cream in color and without the characteristic “porcelain” ring.
In 1752, the young scientist Dmitry Vinogradov, a former classmate of Mikhail Lomonosov, invented his own “recipe” for porcelain, which was in no way inferior to the Saxon one. The first porcelain product was in the form of a cup, decorated grapevine. The value of this invention lay in the fact that the porcelain material was produced entirely from Russian raw materials.
In 1765, Catherine II gave the order to rename the Porcelain Manufactory (engaged in the manufacture of porcelain buttons, cups, snuff boxes, etc.) to. At the same time, Dmitry Vinogradov creates special equipment for the furnaces of this plant, allowing high-temperature firing of the material. The products acquire additional hardness and strength, beginning to compete even with Meissen and Sevres. The Imperial Porcelain Factory brand is becoming recognizable not only in Russia.
In August 1809, a ceramics production plant appeared in the Tver region in the village of Domkino. Its owner becomes entrepreneur-pharmacist A.Ya. Auerbach. In 1832, in the Vladimir region, in the village of Dulevo, a businessman opened a porcelain production. He received skills in working with materials from his father in Gzhel, near Moscow, which served as a successful start in his production business.
In 1843, a plant was launched in Riga, but Kuznetsov did not stop there. In 1870 he bought the Auerbach plant. By 1913, the Kuznetsov holding included eighteen factories producing ceramic, earthenware and porcelain products, whose products were exported to all countries of the world.
The mission of the entrepreneur comes down to one thing - to “squeeze” foreign manufacturers out of Russia.
With the advent of Soviet power, many porcelain factories were nationalized. After this event, the enterprise in the Tver region practically collapses. But in the 30s of the 20th century, talented artists came to the factory, including I. Frikh-Khar, I. Chaikov, I. Efimov, V. Favorsky, V. Filyanskaya, P. Kozhin, S. Lebedeva, M. Kholodnaya . This allows it to begin to flourish again.
Popov porcelain, produced at a manufactory in the village of Gorbunovo near Moscow, bears the name of the founder Alexei Gavrilovich Popov, whose business was later continued by his son Dmitry Alekseevich. The company specializes in porcelain figurines. Graceful figurines of the priest's mowers, shepherds, spinners, fashionistas and fashionistas, a series of dolls from the Neapolitan theater are still found at auctions all over the world. Their quality and forms can easily be considered works of world art.
The periods of operation of Russian porcelain enterprises are different, from several centuries to several decades. Many were forced to close, some merged in order to survive and continue to develop. These include the factories of Gardner (Verbilok Porcelain), Kuznetsov and the Popov family.
History of European porcelain
The first attempts to create their own porcelain were made by Italian masters in the second half of the 15th century. Many people wanted to make a “recipe” for this wonderful material, since Chinese porcelain vases and tableware cost incredible amounts of money. The Germans, British, and French tried to achieve success in this matter, but all their attempts were in vain - the material was more like glass than white porcelain.
The turning point came in Germany during the reign of the Saxon Emperor Augustus. After numerous trials and errors to create the necessary raw materials, the young alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, together with the mathematician and physicist Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus, found entire deposits of white clay with its unique plastic properties near Dresden. It was 1709.
In Meissen, in the Albrechtsburg fortress, a manufactory was opened in 1710, headed by Böttger himself. There is only one goal - the production of hard porcelain, which has its own style. But it took years until real skill was developed. As a result, it became recognizable all over the world, being synonymous with quality and individual history.
If we talk about faience, its production achieved significant success in England also in the 17th century. The English ceramic artist Josiah Wedgwood (Wedgwood) invented high-quality earthenware masses: cream; basalt; jasper The manufactory acquired its own technologies, artistic style and first orders. The 952-piece table service made for Catherine II was called “Russian”. The distinctive sign is a green frog (the author’s personal mark) on each item of this service.
Today, with its shapes and design, it has surpassed many oriental brands. Decorating technologies have made great strides forward, and the very quality of porcelain is polished every year, becoming better and harder. Although the birthplace of porcelain is China, the merit of Europeans in this matter is obvious. It was they who gave the white material a long and creative life, which it still “lives” with high quality and beauty.