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What
is generally referred to as "Dresden" china by collectors are the
pieces that were produced by decorating studios operating in the city
of Dresden, beginning in the early 19th century. Most of
these pieces are marked with some form of the "blue crown" stamp, first
registered by Richard Klemm,
Donath & Co., Oswald Lorenz, and Adolph Hamann in 1883. Although there were over two hundred porcelain
painting shops operating in Dresden between 1855 and 1944, only a
handful attained a significant degree of prominence, including
Franziska Hirsch,
Ambrosius Lamm, Carl Thieme and
Helena Wolfsohn.
"Dresden style," on
the other hand, refers to the artistic technique employed by these
decorators. Art historians describe the style as "Rococo revival,"
referring to a romantic movement originating in France during the
Renaissance. Rococo comes from the French word "rocaille" meaning rock
work or grotto work, and refers to the artificial grottoes used in
French gardens that were decorated with irregularly shaped stones and
seashells. Decorators in Dresden during the 19th century
were the first to apply this style to porcelain, a colorful technique
characterized by elaborate fanciful design and a profusion of foliage,
flowers, fruits, shells and scrolls. The Dresden style was also
characterized by a profusion of intricate gold gilding that contrasted
beautifully with the translucent whiteness of the porcelain. The
result was a literal feast for the eyes, a veritable banquet of
brilliant colors and natural forms that many artists continued to
imitate, even after the allied bombing of Dresden during World War II
destroyed virtually the entire decorating industry in that city.
Numerous manufacturers throughout Germany and Europe during the 19th
and 20th centuries evoked the "Dresden" name on their
markings, for both recognition value and to suggest a particular style
of decorating. Some, of course, were more successful than others. The
most well known Dresden-style porcelain by far is that produced by
Carl
Schumann in Arzburg, Germany (Bavaria) beginning in 1844. However,
there were many other manufacturers who became highly skilled in
imitating the Dresden style, and in some cases, surpassed the quality
of the original "Dresden" porcelain. In many cases, even a trained eye
would be hard pressed to distinguish between the two without looking at
the marks. Despite this, pieces produced in the Dresden style by other
manufacturers are generally less expensive than the original "Dresden"
pieces. The Nacq Partners, Ltd. collection features works of some of the
finest decorators in the Dresden style, including Carl Schumann,
Heinrich & Co., and Henry Ohme.
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