CIRCA 1711-13, LATER SILVER KNOP FINIAL

The shiny black ground employed in the decoration of this coffee-pot was developed at Meissen as a response to the new vogue for lacquer, and in particular, Japanese lacquer. The factory administrator, Johann Melchior Steinbrück commented on the black-glazed pieces as being innovative: 'In addition, he (Böttger) had a part of the red wares coated with black glaze, producing a wholly new style of porcelain, the likes of which no one in Asia has ever seen. Further, he had some of these pieces engraved, so that one sees the red body against the black, and some were also lacquered with gold and colours'.¹ For the cut or engraved and incised decoration Meissen employed glass-cutters and polishers from Bohemia to work on stoneware vessels, principally from 1710-12. Adam Heinrich Blumenthal went to Bohemia to recruit craftsmen, and in February 1710 engaged the polisher Samuel Hölzel, his two sons and 27 other glass engravers and polishers. Glass-cutters were even sent to the Leipzig Fair in 1710 to provide bespoke armorial decoration on Böttger stoneware pieces for aristocratic buyers. By the time Böttger's grinding mill at Weisseritz was completed in 1713 interest in stoneware was waning as porcelain had become more sought after. Consequently by 1712 only four glass workers remained at Meissen.

1. Johann Melchior Steinbrück, Bericht über die Porzellanmanufaktur Meissen von den Anfängen bis zum Jahre 1717 (transcription and commentary by Ingelore Menzhausen, Leipzig, 1982, pp. 75-76).