"The First European Porcelain" Maisen Porcelain

Whenever porcelain is mentioned, the Chinese will think of Jingdezhen. In Europe, it seems that it is rare for anyone to know the name of Mason. The millennium of Chinese porcelain faces today’s Europe’s Maisen porcelain. The latter’s “post-mortem” momentum makes us today envy and unwilling, and we want to find out more.

Yesterday's classic and today's fashion is located in Saxony, Germany. The small town of Messen, 25 km from Dresden, has a constant connection with porcelain in the history of the past millennium. Just as the most prominent Swiss watch brands often hide in small mountain villages, the most valuable porcelain family is also hidden at the foot of the East Germany Erzse - January 23, 1710, Maisen porcelain factory was born here.

The base of Maisen Porcelain is a solemn museum with a ginger yellow facade. It enters from the side entrance. The complex layout of the building has integrated the museum, the exhibition hall and the buildings upstairs. In the hallway, Messin’s hand-made display workshop is also hidden. The ground floor of the building is divided into two floors. The atrium is separated by a two-story patio. The upper floor is the classic porcelain works exhibition in the history of Messin for three hundred years. The bottom floor is the new porcelain works, fashion decoration, stationery and other exhibition areas. At the center of the patio, two floors of the space are the display areas where more than 70 artists from around the world have been invited by Mei Sen in conjunction with porcelain. Christine Sigg, head of marketing for Maisen porcelain, said that the building was originally built in 1916, and the exhibition hall was built in 2005, dedicated to the collection of Mai Sen porcelain works. There are more than 50,000 visitors coming here every year.

The classic porcelain exhibition area showcases the fine porcelain produced by Mason for 300 years. Looking at the pattern texture of porcelain, glaze and color, we inevitably think of our "blue flowers" and "red beans." The oldest porcelain here corresponds to the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Kangxi porcelain was changing from the quaint Ming Dynasty to noble and elegant, and Mei Sen porcelain was reviewed at this level. The early development was still not affected by China. Here we also see Meissen's famous porcelain decoration patterns: red dragon and blue onion. One China, one West, implying that Mason gradually fell out of the influence of Chinese porcelain.

In the modern exhibition area, Maisen porcelain is an anti-classical product that is gloomy and brilliant. Variety of design, sophisticated shape and perfect glazed effect, people can not put it down. Mr. Kurtzke, President of Messin’s Porcelain Co., Ltd., instructed a gold-wrapped teapot. The pot was covered with small white silk flowers and golden vines were wound around it. The spout was designed to be slightly thicker. Branches, vines rise up and wind, forming a handle. The teapot is extremely exquisite, and hundreds of flowers are molded and then adhered to the kettle body. The overall design is amazing. According to reports, this pot is limited to 50 worldwide, priced at 150,000 euros. A ring with the same type of teapot originally originated from the design of Messene in 1739.

Mason was first known for making jewelry. In the modern exhibition area, who can identify the sapphire luster elliptical gemstone ring is actually a "porcelain stone"? Mason has his own paint factory. The blue color of the ring is hand-colored on porcelain. The most sensitive pigments are combined with the finest porcelain, and modern Meson has echoed the original brand history in jewelry design and production. In these details, Messin silently expressed his respect and commemoration of his own history and traditions.

The noble European "Europe's first porcelain"

On January 23, 2010, Maxen Porcelain celebrated its 300th birthday. In these 300 years, Maisen porcelain experienced a total of 11 wars and 6 social systems. For a company, the “spiritual light” flashing behind such vitality is not only the product itself, but also the overall value of its brand.

During the 200 years from the 16th century to the 18th century, porcelain has become a symbol of the European royal family and aristocrats showing off their status. It is also the most important symbol of wealth. The almost fanatical love for Chinese porcelain eventually led to the birth of Messin porcelain in the early 18th century. In 1705, the great Saxon king Augustus II forced the young alchemist Beitge to develop a method of firing porcelain. After 3 years in captivity, in 1708, Beitge finally succeeded in the high-temperature dungeon. Burning a white, transparent, small earthen piece, China's secretive ceramic recipe has finally been cracked in Europe.

In 1710, Augustus II established Europe’s first porcelain factory in the small town of Mason, Eastern Germany, and the Mason brand was born. The town of Messen, which borders the Czech Republic, is also the European capital of Europe. Meisson’s early production of porcelain was dark in shades of gray, and the decorative patterns of porcelain were also mostly evident in Chinese colors. Chinese myths and legends, flowers, birds, fish and fruit were copied as they were. After continuous improvement and innovation, since 1731, Mai Sen finally got rid of the shadow of Chinese porcelain. After that, Beitger continued to guide the factory to build a large kiln to increase the temperature of firing porcelain, continuously improve the quality and mass production. Continuous R&D and creation enabled Merson to maintain its own after successively successfully developing porcelain manufacturing technologies in other European countries. The leading position in the European ceramic market. Since then, the artist Hayward and the engraver Candler have continued to innovate in the paintings and shapes of Messin porcelain, laying a solid foundation for the aesthetics of Messin porcelain. It is also based on this profound accumulation that Messin porcelain is called "white gold" by European nobility, and you are the first porcelain in Europe.

In addition, the many complicated porcelain works created by Maxen in the past 300 years are completely handmade, and the subtle differences between the works of porcelain on the same subject also create a unique and authentic appreciation atmosphere for connoisseurs. At the same time, the unrivalled quality is the golden rule of the Meissen porcelain. As early as 1764, based on the emphasis on the artistic quality of the products, Maisen Porcelain Factory established its own art school for painting, and it is also a branch of the Saxon Grand Duchy Art School. It mainly teaches the painting and carving art of technician porcelain. This is also a pioneering move in the history of world-famous porcelain. At this point, the two ragged blue swords with beautifully curved arcs on the white glaze of Meissen porcelain also became a symbol of the centuries-old classic.

The master craftsmanship depicts the handcraft workshops in the Cicheng Gold Museum, which occupies an entire floor of the building. 64 painters work in various studios here. The porcelain products of different shapes are brought together in one production step. Each piece of porcelain in Meissen porcelain, and even every item on porcelain, is made by hand by the workers. Their styling has a history of more than a hundred years or even two or three hundred years. In addition, kaolin clay used as a raw material for china is also a specialty of the Mason area. In addition, the beauty of Meissen porcelain lies in its color. The porcelain pigments here are strictly in accordance with secret recipes. Messin’s laboratory has tens of thousands of colors of formula. At the moment, the porcelain that was brought together in this workshop had not yet been colored. On the white tire, the painter first made a pencil and then painted it in a paint pen. Today, Meson still insists on the extravagance that he inherited from the royal bloodline. Without industrialization, he has always been hand-painted by artists.

In a studio called the highest level of production, a bowl of the artist's painting shows the natural landscape of the Saxony Morez Castle with almost oil painting effects. It takes 3 weeks for the painter to paint this bowl, and at the other end, a flower vase with a brushwork style painted by a painter only takes 3 months to draw. People familiar with Mason porcelain know that any Maison porcelain, regardless of size and shape, is expensive. Only one of the decorative paintings on porcelain saw so much effort. It was indeed very expensive.

In a sculptural interior, an artist is contemplating a female statue named "Citizen." The two-meter-high gray kaolin statue has not yet been burned. Women’s “citizens” stood up and stretched out their slender hands, which seemed to be waiting for a gentleman to kiss. Allegedly, after the statue was successfully fired, it will be placed in the German Federal Parliament Hall next year, accepting visits to the heads of state to "kiss the hands." This is also a sign that Messen’s outstanding artistry is widely recognized.

With 300 years of history and 700,000 pieces of mold, according to the national character of the Germans, their archives management work should be unmatched in the world. The archives of Messin porcelain are indeed worthy of the name. The entire mold archive room is just a part of it. Each Maison porcelain is made from different molds. The decorative petals on the porcelain and the key parts of the head of the figure are first filled with clay into the mold and then assembled by the workers on the main body. For some complex porcelain designs, the production process lasted several months is also very normal. According to the administrator, there are nearly 700,000 pieces of porcelain molds for almost all important products of Messen for nearly 300 years! With these molds, customers can even order porcelain that was once produced by the porcelain factory more than 200 years ago. This is actually a complete history of German porcelain development. A porcelain portrait on a shelf was placed with its entire set of molds, which were produced in 1737. These foot molds, hand molds, and body torso molds are each molded out of porcelain and then combined into a finished portrait. It is still possible today to reproduce the works of artists of hundreds of years ago in this way. With the brewing of years, the lasting vitality of these arts is preserved.

Another small building houses the drawing of European paintings for centuries. Their various themes, characters, landscapes, religious rituals, family life, and content are almost all-inclusive. These pictures filled with details provide inspiration for the artists' creation. Although there is no millennium history of porcelain in China, Germany has retained too many cultural gems in the 300-year porcelain setting, and it has also given rise to new cultural connotations for 300 years.

The future museum hall of Maisen porcelain is divided into two floors of the hall “Patio” area, displaying a number of modern works of art. Without prompting, it is hard to believe that these modern-style, intense paintings were made by artists using porcelain paint on porcelain. In addition, a variety of beautiful flowers made of porcelain are burned in porcelain. Each petal is made of porcelain and lined with copper leaves to become a unique porcelain flower work. According to reports, these are the "ArtCampus" projects initiated by Messin in 2010 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the factory. Since its inception, the project has invited 70 artists from all over the world to come here, with their own cultural backgrounds and personal experiences, and using their unique perspectives and styles to create porcelain materials. At present, 10 to 20 artists are invited to come each year, including well-known artists and new generations of unknown artists.

As Mr. Kurtzke, who oversees Mr. Mason’s porcelain, said: “In this museum, new works in the ground floor hall represent “now”, and the upper 300-year classic palace porcelain represents “the past” while in “ArtCampus”. "In experimental works, we metaphorize our "future." Based on the exquisite technology of porcelain, and inserting the wings of modern art, it will not be an empty talk of propaganda that will make Maisen a “holy shrine” in the world of porcelain.