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The Duke of Württemberg’s factory at the Residenzstadt of Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart, was founded in 1758, a propitious moment for starting a new enterprise of the kind, as Meissen and other factories in northern Germany were suffering from the effects of a long-protracted war. Under the directorship of Ringler, who had previously gained experience at Vienna and Neudeck, the works speedily reached a high pitch of efficiency. In figures they were stamped at an earlier date than other German works with the new ideas of classicism, through the influence of the sculptor who was appointed in 1759 to superintend the modelling, Wilhelm Beyer of Gotha. As the result of prolonged residence in Rome and Naples he was deeply imbued with the spirit of antique sculpture. He understood well how to temper the cold serenity of the antique so as to suit the taste of an emotional age; at the same time he knew how to modify classical forms in compliance with the exigencies of his material, nor did he, like later porcelain-modellers of the classical school, renounce the charms of glaze and colour. The classical feeling makes itself felt as much in his pastoral groups as in his renderings of mythological subjects.
PLATE 4
Ewer, Chinese, period of Wan Li (1573–1619), with contemporary brass mount of Augsburg workmanship. Height, 12¼ in.
No. 174-1879. See p. [13].
Mark: Fu (“Happiness”) in seal character.
Whilst Beyer was the pioneer of the classical in porcelain figures, the Ludwigsburg factory was slow to abandon the rococo style in its table wares. The exceptionally graceful forms which they assume are typified by the coffee-pot in Mr. Fitzhenry’s collection, represented in [Plate 21]. The gilt scrollwork under the lip shows the rococo at its best. The mark on the bottom is the cipher of Duke Carl Eugen, a double “C” under a ducal crown.
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