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The Frankenthal Porcelain Factory (German: Porzellanmanufaktur Frankenthal) was one of the greatest porcelain manufacturers of Germany and operated in Frankenthal in the Rhineland-Palatinate between 1755 and 1799. From the start they made hard-paste porcelain, and produced both figurines and dishware of very high quality, somewhat reflecting in style the French origin of the business, especially in their floral painting. Initially they were a private business, but from 1761 were owned by the local ruler, like most German porcelain factories of the period.
The porcelain factory in Frankenthal was established in 1755 by the Hannong family, who had previously manufactured porcelain, as well as Strasbourg faience, in Strasbourg until Louis XVI established a state monopoly on porcelain in favour of the Sèvres factory and closed down all others. Karl Hannong transferred his business to an empty barracks in Frankenthal, just outside Mannheim, and staffed it with his Strasbourg workforce, under a privilege from the local ruler Elector Carl Theodor of Bavaria, who visited the factory himself in the following year, once production was well under way. In 1757 additional craftsmen were hired from Meissen porcelain and in 1759 Hannong was able to open a shop in Strasbourg.
However, in 1760 Karl Hannong died and the business became the property of his two sons Joseph Adam Hannong and Peter Anton Hannong, who fell out over the "arcanum" (the formula of the paste). Their disagreements had a damaging effect on the business and by 1761 they had borrowed so much from the Elector that it was impossible for them to repay it. In 1762 therefore the Elector bought the factory from the Hannongs for 40,804 guilders, plus another 10,00 for the arcanum, and installed his own officials to manage it.
Frankenthal Porcelain was always hard-paste, as Hannong senior had been in partnership in Strasbourg with an ex-employee of the Meissen factory. It is said that one of his sons sold the secret to Sèvres, although they were unable to obtain the right raw materials for some time.
The years from 1762 to 1770 were extraordinarily successful: the products achieved high quality and established the factory's reputation. They retained some of the French style of Strasbourg. From 1770 all items were marked with a date mark. The earlier body was "a fine creamy white with a well-used glaze", but from 1774 the paste was made with local china clay, generally mixed with "Passau earth" (Passauer Erde), resulting in lower quality. [1] By 1776 the Frankenthal porcelain factory had shops in Aachen, Basel, Frankfurt, Livorno, Mainz, Munich and Nancy.
The Napoleonic Wars brought an end to the business. Frankenthal was occupied by the French in 1794, who closed the porcelain factory down in 1799. Production had been lower since at least 1790, and models and moulds had been moved to Nymphenburg, [2] which the elector owned by then, having also become Prince-Elector of Bavaria.
The Frankenthal factory was in operation for only 44 years (run for 7 years by the Hannongs, and for 37 by the electoral administration) and is thus the shortest-lived of the major German porcelain manufacturers. It was marked by an unusually numerous succession of directors and principal modellers, although some of the main painters spent a long time at the factory; painted mythological scenes were a Frankenthal speciality. [3]
Collections of Frankenthal porcelain may be seen, among other places, in the Reiss Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, the Kurpfälzisches Museum in Heidelberg, the Historisches Museum der Pfalz in Speyer and the Bavarian National Museum in Munich. Works of the brothers Paul and Johann Hannong are displayed in the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Strasbourg and in the Musée du pain d'épice in Gertwiller.
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C. The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arise mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. End applications include tableware, decorative ware such as figurines, and products in technology and industry such as electrical insulators and laboratory ware.
Frankenthal (Pfalz) (Palatine German: Frongedahl) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Vincennes porcelain manufactory was established in 1740 in the disused royal Château de Vincennes, in Vincennes, east of Paris, which was from the start the main market for its wares.
Soft-paste porcelain is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its high firing temperatures or special mineral ingredients. There are many types, using a range of materials. The material originated in the attempts by many European potters to replicate hard-paste Chinese export porcelain, especially in the 18th century, and the best versions match hard-paste in whiteness and translucency, but not in strength. But the look and feel of the material can be highly attractive, and it can take painted decoration very well.
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work and brought this type of porcelain to the market, financed by Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. The production of porcelain in the royal factory at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish, arguably, the most famous porcelain manufacturer known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is reportedly one of the oldest trademarks in existence.
The Manufacture nationale de Sèvres is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It has been owned by the French crown or government since 1759.
The Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory is located at the Nördliches Schloßrondell in one of the Cavalier Houses in front of the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany, and since its establishment in 1747 has produced porcelain of high quality. It is one of the last porcelain producers in the world where every single part is made entirely by hand.
Capodimonte porcelain is porcelain created by the Capodimonte porcelain manufactory, which operated in Naples, Italy, between 1743 and 1759. Capodimonte is the most significant factory for early Italian porcelain, the Doccia porcelain of Florence being the other main Italian factory. Capodimonte is most famous for its moulded figurines.
The Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten is a porcelain manufactory located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and is one of the oldest porcelain manufacturers in Europe. The Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten is also home to the Augarten Porcelain Museum, which displays a collection of historic and contemporary porcelain pieces. In addition to its porcelain products, the company also produces glassware, cutlery, and other home accessories.
Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain is a French soft-paste porcelain from the manufactory established under the patronage of Louis-François-Anne de Neufville, duc de Villeroy (1695–1766) and—from 1748—housed in outbuildings in the park of his château de Villeroy, and in the nearby village of Mennecy (Île-de-France). The history of the factory remains somewhat unclear, but it is typically regarded as producing between about 1738 and 1765.
French porcelain has a history spanning a period from the 17th century to the present. The French were heavily involved in the early European efforts to discover the secrets of making the hard-paste porcelain known from Chinese and Japanese export porcelain. They succeeded in developing soft-paste porcelain, but Meissen porcelain was the first to make true hard-paste, around 1710, and the French took over 50 years to catch up with Meissen and the other German factories.
Rouen porcelain is soft-paste porcelain made in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France, during a brief period from about 1673 to 1696. It was the earliest French porcelain, but was probably never made on a commercial basis; only nine pieces are now thought to survive.
Volkstedt porcelain manufactory sited in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany, was the earliest porcelain manufactory in Thuringia. It was in business as Aelteste Volkstedter Porzellanmanufaktur, the "Oldest Volkstedt Porcelain Manufactory", which was integrated into the VEB Vereinigte Zierporzellanwerke Lichte, which in turn formed part of the Kombinat Feinkeramik Kahla.
Porcelain money refers to coins and tokens made of porcelain intended for economic exchange. Most famous are the German Notgeld struck between 1921 and 1923, and the gambling tokens used as petty coinage in Siam with Chinese characters.
China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porcelain, developed in 18th-century Europe. The broader term ceramic painting includes painted decoration on lead-glazed earthenware such as creamware or tin-glazed pottery such as maiolica or faience.
Johann Gregor Herold or Johann Gregorius Höroldt was a German painter and porcelain painter. He was a key early figure in defining the styles of decoration for Meissen porcelain from 1723 onwards.
Vienna porcelain is the product of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory, a porcelain manufacturer in Alsergrund in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and continued until 1864.
Ludwigsburg porcelain is porcelain made at the Ludwigsburg Porcelain Manufactory founded by Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, on 5 April 1758 by decree as the Herzoglich-ächte Porcelaine-Fabrique. It operated from the grounds of the Baroque Ludwigsburg Palace. After a first two decades that were artistically, but not financially, successful, the factory went into a slow decline and was closed in 1824. Much later a series of other companies used the Ludwigsburg name, but the last production was in 2010.
Vezzi porcelain is porcelain made by the Vezzi porcelain factory in Venice, Italy, established in 1720 by the Vezzi family. It was the first porcelain factory in Italy, after the experimental Medici porcelain of the 16th century. It operated only until 1727, so surviving pieces are few, probably fewer than 200. It made "true" hard-paste porcelain, and was only the third factory in Europe to do so, hiring technicians from Meissen porcelain and Vienna porcelain, the first two makers.
Cozzi porcelain is porcelain made by the Cozzi factory in Venice, which operated between 1764 and 1812. Production included sculptural figurines, mostly left in plain glazed white, and tableware, mostly painted with floral designs or with figures in landscapes and buildings, in "bright but rough" colours. They were rather derivative, drawing from Meissen porcelain in particular in the early years.
Most detailed sources are in German or French