1710. Meissen. Böttger ware
This modest brown hard-paste porcelain vase is a rare and precious exhibit that any famous world museum would be proud to own. It is one of the first samples of porcelain made in Europe. The vase dates back to the times when, upon the orders of Elector of Saxony, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Augustus II, alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719) imprisoned in Albrechtsburg Castle, discovered the formula for producing porcelain.
Porcelain, so highly prized and collected by Augustus II, would be imported from China and equalled the price of gold, leading to the rapid emptying of the monarch’s treasury. This prompted the Elector of Saxony to arrest the alchemist J. F. Böttger in 1701 and order him to convert base metals into gold. A pharmacist’s apprentice at the time, the 19-year-old J. F. Böttger had already earned renown for his astounding experiments in alchemy, so much so that his name was known among the powerful in the country, seeking to profit from his discoveries. He was forced to flee from a hundred-man-strong army sent to track him down by King Frederick I of Prussia, only to be taken into protective custody by Augustus II, whereupon J. F. Böttger was locked in an alchemy laboratory with the latest equipment, a scientific library and qualified masters. Understanding that any unsuccessful attempt at producing gold would cost him his life, J. F. Böttger tried to escape but was detained and sent to Albrechtsburg. Luckily, while there he was placed under the supervision of the Dresden scientist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, who understood the senselessness of the alchemist’s task and convinced his young colleague to seek “white gold” – the secret of porcelain production – instead of regular gold.
In 1708, just before E. W. Tschirnhaus passed away, J. F. Böttger took out the first European porcelain item from the kiln. Incidentally, it was not white in colour: the first items were made of a reddish brown ceramic mass and it was evident that the constituent ingredients did not match the precise composition of the recipe. J. F. Böttger found the missing piece to this puzzle when he chanced upon white clay, known as kaolin, not far from Meissen.
In 1709, J. F. Böttger created the first sample of white porcelain in Europe in his laboratory, and proclaimed to the king that now he could produce porcelain that was “as good as that of the Chinese”.
In 1710 Augustus II the Strong founded the first European porcelain manufactory near Meissen at his Albrechtsburg Castle. For almost half a century, the Meissen manufactory held the monopoly on porcelain production in Europe. The crossed swords – the oldest maker’s mark for porcelain – also became a sign of quality, being specially selected by wealthy buyers who appreciated luxury. The Meissen legend lives on to this day.