Teapot with equestrian scene 1722–1723 Meissen Manufactory German Remarkably, the Meissen factory was producing porcelain on a commercial basis within three years of its founding in 1710 (entry 12). The artistic quality of its wares and decorative objects was impressively high from the outset, but throughout the 1710s, Meissen lacked the ability to successfully decorate its production with enamel colors. The Chinese and Japanese porcelains avidly collected by August II (1670–1733), commonly known as Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony, king of Poland, during these years were notable for the

Teapot with equestrian scene 1722–1723 Meissen Manufactory German Remarkably, the Meissen factory was producing porcelain on a commercial basis within three years of its founding in 1710 (entry 12). The artistic quality of its wares and decorative objects was impressively high from the outset, but throughout the 1710s, Meissen lacked the ability to successfully decorate its production with enamel colors. The Chinese and Japanese porcelains avidly collected by August II (1670–1733), commonly known as Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony, king of Poland, during these years were notable for the superlative quality of their painted decoration, making the absence of brilliant enamel colors on the factory’s porcelain perceived as a serious deficiency. While Meissen had not yet mastered this technology, the wares and vases intended for painted decoration were delivered to Georg Funcke (German, active 1713–27), an independent enameler and gilder in Dresden. The porcelains painted by Funcke are prized today, both for their rarity and for their early date of production, but the enamels that he employed were limited both in range and in saturation, and so- called Funcke decoration is always modest in ambition.[1] However, the arrival of German enameler Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696–1775) at Meissen in May 1720 changed the factory’s capabilities in porcelain painting dramatically. Höroldt’s early years at Meissen have been extensively documented,[2] and his impact on every aspect of the factory’s production was far-reaching. In brief, Höroldt worked at the Du Paquier enterprise in Vienna (entry 28) prior to arriving at Meissen, and he brought a level of proficiency to enamel painting that was unknown either at Meissen or in Dresden at that time. Höroldt’s abilities were not confined to his painting expertise; he oversaw the development of a range of enamel colors at Meissen that was unprecedented, and he created a factory style that ensured Meissen’s

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