Vase and Cover (one of a pair)
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain, black enamel (schwarzlot), gilding
Dimensions
21.2 × 7.8 × 8.8 cm (8 5/16 × 3 1/16 × 3 7/16 in.)
Classification
vase
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
146975
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
These rare vases represent two significant contributions to the history of European ceramics: the earliest form of European hard-paste porcelain, developed at the Meissen Manufactory by Johann Friedrich Böttger (German, 1682–1719); and the virtuoso Schwartzlot (black enamel) decoration and gilding of Ignaz Preissler (German, 1676–1741), who came from a distinguished family of glass and ceramic decorators.
About the Artist
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
The Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, established on June 6, 1710, by Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, in the Albrechtsburg castle at Meissen near Dresden, marked Europe's breakthrough in producing true hard-paste porcelain. Building on experiments by physicist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger, who perfected the formula using local...