A Brief History of Dresden
What a line or maybe I should say a “Time and Region”. The word Dresden or Dresden’s should refer to geography more than a type of art, or a style of figurines, or a style of painting or…. You get the idea.
I guess we should start at the beginning, in the early 18th century 1710. King Augustus II or King Augustus the Strong (1670-1733 his given name was Fredrick Augustus) King of Poland , began several Philanthropic ventures manly his interest in the Arts, architecture, dance, music and musicians, and China and China Painting. Sculptors, poets, philosophers, musicians, and porcelain decorators ascended to the Saxony region know today as Dresden Germany. During his reign Dresden emerged as a leader in technology and the arts. The city of Dresden had a distinctive silhouette, captured in famous paintings by Bernado Bellotto, Canaletto and by Norwegian painter Johan Christian Dahl.
Augustus II commisioned master enameler Johann Herold to take the helm of his small Porcelain Factory from 1730 to 1750 ( early 50’s maybe ), 15 miles form Dresden in Meissen . In the city of Dresden, the art of hard paste porcelains was discovered by King Augustus II through one of his commissions, up to this point, only the Chinese and Japanese had mastered the art of porcelains and ceramics. Dresden suffered heavy destruction in the Seven Years’s War (1756-1763) and pretty much the porcelain factories that had set up began to close or were destoried by the wars.For over 100 years the factories that remained opened flounder and barely survied. It wasn’t until the “Romance Period” in the 19th century that people were caught in a frenzy to find these beautifully master works of art. And the Factories slowly begain to reopen. Finding many of the orginal molds, and the formulas for the slip and paints, the rebirth of the Dresden Porcelains begain ( here’s were we believe that the name “Dresden” or “Dresdens” started ).
As the Factories and Studios begain to flurish once more great works came from these artist, chinaware, vases, urns, plates, figurines, and “Laced Draped Dolls” . Today dresen is mostly known for the lace work applied to their figurines and/or dolls. A delicate process which takes a steady hand to apply and paint. Most of the figurine type fugures, the chinaware, urns, plates, vases etc are commomly mistaken for “Meissen Porcelain” and in someways Meissen thay are, as most of the molds came from Meissen Germany 15 miles from Dresden.
In the early hours of dusk on Febuary 13th or the 15th 1945, Allied Forces , The Royal Air Force, and the US Army Air force, mistakenly bomb Dresden Germany, and near obliterated the region from the map. Along with the destruction of Dresden the porcelain factories, history, molds, and most importantly their staffs were destroyed and/or killed.Today this action remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of the Western European theater of war Just a note for history, None of Dresden's garrisons or military sites were targeted. Some of the Allies described the operation as the justified bombing of a military and industrial target, while others called it “terror.” Prime Minister Winston Churchill tried to distance himself from the attack (which he had ordered himself). History still recalls this attach misguided. Note heres also the birth of the “US Air Force” a new branch of the military.
In the 19th century the Blue Crown replaced the crosed swords of Meissen. Richard Kleim Donath and Company, Oswalt Lorenz and Adolph Hamann , first registered the “Blue Crown “ stamp in 1883. Others began using the stamp all around the region.
Some of the more famous studios (sounds better than factories) include Alka-Kunst Alboth and Kaiser, Ernst Bohne and Sons, and the Irish Dresden Company Sitzendorf. Which still operate today in one fashion or another.
If you have Irish Dresden, German Dresden , Plates, Figurines, Urns, Etc you have the real thing, from a small region of the eastern part of Germany or the southern part of Ireland . |
