ANTIQUES : Make Mine Meissen

ONE OF THE EARLIEST, and arguably the finest, hard-paste porcelains was produced in China as early as the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 to 906). Made of kaolin, a fine white clay mixed with feldspar, it was fired at high temperature. And the ingredients fused to make the hard, white non-porous pottery that was sought after far and wide. Export porcelain from China was enormously popular in the West, and by the 18th Century, Europeans were importing a million pieces a year.

It took a long time for European manufacturers to learn the secret of making hard-paste porcelain. A viable formula was developed in 1709 by J. F. Bottger and others in Meissen, a small town outside Dresden in Saxony (now part of East Germany). And soon after, the first true porcelain factory in the Western World was established by one Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony. Production began in 1713.

Meissen porcelain compared favorably with Chinese models, both from a technical and an artistic point of view. The first designs were close to the Chinese in inspiration, although after the 1720s, a form of German rococo became popular. By then, Meissen perfected the characteristic brilliant-white paste, enamel colors and graceful styles on which the factory’s reputation rests today. Painted decoration was derived from many sources: from Japanese enameled pottery, for example, and from Chinese famille verte porcelain. To these were added innumerable European scenes--landscapes, harbors and groups of urban and rural figures, often set in panels on colored grounds.

Before long, Meissen’s famous crossed-blue-swords logo was known and respected around the world. The firm’s most talented sculptor and designer, J. J. Kandler, virtually created the European porcelain figure. Among the most popular pieces produced were the models of children and mythological characters made between 1860 and 1890 and the models of soldiers that appeared after 1870. Designs from the 18th Century continued to be produced, and to this day remain in vogue.

For today’s collector, Meissen work is generally scarce and expensive. But because such a wide variety of artifacts was produced--baskets, plates, bowls, tea caddies, candlesticks, figurines, scent bottles, snuff boxes, dinner services, tureens, vases and more--bargains occasionally appear. Examples from recent auctions include: a cane handle, circa 1743 ($9,000), a teapot and cover, circa 1725 ($9,000), a figure of a jay ($17,500) and a figure of a rhinoceros ($2,300), both modeled by Kandler, circa 1745, and a circular snuff box with a solid-gilt interior, circa 1770 ($27,500).

Meissen may be found at the following locations: Quatrain, (213) 652-0243, and Robert Stewart Reed, (213) 657-3644, in Los Angeles; Speidel Antiques, Pacific Palisades, (213) 459-1611; Panache Unlimited, Fullerton, (714) 879-2696; Roberta Gauthey, (714) 494-9925, and Richard Yeakel, (714) 494-5526, in Laguna Beach; Castle Antiques, Costa Mesa, (714) 646-3333; Snooty Fox, Ventura, (805) 648-5484; and Hood Antiques, (619) 281-8034, and Mission Gallery, (619) 692-3566, in San Diego.