Germany Gems IV: Meissen Porcelain

They say that the new developments depend on the crazy and irrational and this story will only re-enforce that. Augustus the Strong, the ruler of Saxony was crazy about collecting oriental Porcelain and would go to any extent to buy expensive pieces of Chinese porcelain. One of the legends says that he even exchanged some of his soldiers for porcelain. Eventually he decided to reverse engineer and make porcelain at home. A few miles away from Dresden in Meissen the research began in early 18^th CE. It took a few years to crack it but they learnt the way to make their own porcelain. Their earliest porcelain was in red color and some memento pieces are still sold in red porcelain.

The logo of the manufactory has remained the same – two cross swords, the color kept changing with the times though. There are some historic designs that still continue to be popular like onion shaped cups and saucers. The process of porcelain making is no longer proprietary but the process of making colors is still maintained as a secret till date. A tour of the visitor center takes you through the history and process of porcelain making in Europe through a video, followed by a tour of demo areas where the various stages of porcelain making are shown. It begins by carving of pieces and a favorite here is quintessential onion shaped cup and saucer, small flowers and decorative faces. Some complex pieces that are a combination of many smaller pieces are also shown. This is followed by demonstrated of painting by two different methods – over glazing and under glazing. Over glazing is done for floral patterns that are drawn by hand by skilled craftspersons. Different stages of the glazing are demonstrated at the back of these demo areas.

Tea, Coffee, Chocolate ceremony is a fascinating activity that they do in their cafetaria. Three different types of Meissen Porcelain cups and saucers are kept on the table for every person along with different types of cakes and special cheesecake of the region. Guide explains different shapes of cups like a tall cup for hot chocolate, a wide broad cup for tea and a normal cup for coffee. Ceremony begins with choclolate followed by tea and finally coffee. Various shapes of the pots are also explained and the reasons for those shapes like a saucer with a holder inbuilt for the teacup so that it can be used while lying down. There was a traditional set in black and golden that was priced at more than 1800 euros. As we enjoyed the precious porcelain and the exquisite varieties of drinks, the guide kept telling us stories of evolution of Meissen porcelain. At times she shared some old pictures of how they used porcelain in earlier days and at times she quizzed us what the people in picture were having based on the shapes of the porcelain in their hands. You can also have multi-course meals at the same place in porcelain tableware.

Some exclusive pieces include a 3.5-meter high centerpiece of dining table, many animals in white porcelain and a musical organ. In fact for a fee they even play the organ and let the audience understand the difference between the sounds of wooden, metal and porcelain pipes. Here and there walls have patterns made from porcelain tiles, some look creative patterns and some look like paintings.

At the ground floor visitor center has a curio shop and a huge jewellery shop that showcases wearable porcelain. Most of us were scared to touch the pieces for they were both fragile and extremely expensive. There are broken pieces of porcelain filled in glass boxes creating an aesthetic from them as well. There is a modern art center where new age or contemporary artists’ creations of porcelain are showcased. Since we were a group of Indians they enthusiastically told us about the Indian artsists who have exhibited their works here.

You need at least 2 hours for the tour of the facility properly.