European Porcelain Celebrates 300 Years

Created three centuries ago, Meissen porcelain, the first to be made in Europe, cannot be separated from the royal court of Saxony's desire to possess the beautiful and expensive. For some 200 years, Europe's royalty treasured porcelain imported from Asia. Then, while a prisoner in Augustus the Strong's Saxon court, Johann Friedrich Böttger discovered how to create equally stunning tableware, statuettes, pots and vases in Europe for a fraction of the cost.

A note written by the then 26-year-old Böttger, dated Jan. 15, 1708, calls the results of his work that day "optimally white and translucent." Those are two terms that today's porcelain creators continue to strive for in their work.

Years of experiments with caustic chemicals and noxious fumes to find the perfect mix of a type of kaolin, alabaster and quartz, ruined Böttger's body and led to serious circulation problems, sight reduction, cramps and, ultimately, his death in Dresden on March 13, 1719.

The first Meissen factory was erected in 1710 and was Europe's first such factory. Chinese figures and designs were the inspiration for much of the preliminary work, but the factory's formers and casters soon created their own Baroque-influenced style. Meissen began using two crossed swords as its symbol in 1722. Slight variations in the logo allow pieces to be approximately dated.

Worldwide sales of Meissen porcelain, available from some 300 authorized agents. The company, which employs 820 people, had sales worth about 37 million euros in 2006, according to its Web site.

Like nearly all the people working with today's porcelain creations, Meissen employees handle the intricate cups and saucers with a casual familiarity. But once it leaves the factory, the porcelain is usually grasped in uneasy fingers troubled at the thought of breaking the delicate objects that are often handed down generation to generation.