In 1710 Böttger had not succeeded in making perfect porcelain. He had not yet the perfect clay. But the clay was found; and this, too, was accidental—so we now term it: once, a happy discovery was called “providential.” The discovery came at the right moment. It seems that a rich iron-master of Saxony, when riding one day (1711), saw that his horse’s feet were held with tenacity in a soft white clay. It struck him that this white clay might be dried and made into hair-powder, then greatly in use. He tried it; it succeeded, and large quantities were sold. The hair-dresser of Böttger used it, and, when Böttger found it was heavy and a mineral, he at once applied it to the production of porcelain. “Eureka!” the secret was found!
It was kaolin, the great clay—the body or bones of porcelain. Doubt fled. Courage was assured.
Augustus at once built the great factory at Meissen, and in 1715 enough porcelain was produced to be offered for sale at the fair of Leipsic. The first ware made was white, and this was ornamented with vine-leaves and grapes in low-relief, or was pierced through the sides or borders. It is doubtful whether any of this white was sold, most of it being disposed of as presents.
The first color used was blue, probably in imitation of the Nanking ware.
Böttger, who appears to have been a sort of artistic scamp, died in 1719, at the age of thirty-seven, a victim of his own vices; but his work was carried onward by others.
The news of this successful discovery spread, like fire on a prairie, throughout Europe, and every device was resorted to to get at the secrets, which were closely guarded at Meissen. Every director and officer was monthly sworn to secrecy; every workman had before his eyes, “Be secret to death!” and it was well known that any traitor would be punished with imprisonment, or worse.
The works were continued, after the death of Böttger, under Höroldt’s direction; and it was during this time that the decorations swung clear of Oriental imitation. Painting in colors, and gilding, were employed; vases, dishes, services, were made; delicate copies of paintings were produced; also birds, insects, animals, flowers, etc.
A sculptor named Kändler was employed from 1731 to 1763, and under him figures of many sorts were produced, some of them still quite famous—“The Tailor and his Wife” riding on goats, figures of the Carnival of Venice, figurines of Cupids, of lawyers, doctors, and many professions and trades. He also modeled animals and birds, the twelve Apostles, of life-size, etc.
Chaffers quotes from the London Magazine of 1753: “This fabric, which brings annually great sums of money into the country, is daily increasing in reputation, and is carried to all the courts of Europe. Even the Turks come from Constantinople to purchase it, and the rarest pieces that are made are carried thither to embellish the grand-seignior’s and his great officers’ houses and seraglios.”
Let us quote further from the same: “The sets of porcelain for tea, coffee, or chocolate, may be had for fifteen to sixty guineas. There is one particular kind from which they will abate nothing of one hundred guineas the set; this is a double porcelain, not made at once, but a second layer added to the first form, resembling a honey-comb on the outside, which is of a pale-brown color, the letts or cavities being all painted, as well as the bottoms of the insides of the cups and dishes. This, as all other sorts, may be had painted with landscapes and figures, birds, insects, fruits, flowers: the first being the dearer; the latter, the best executed, being almost equal to Nature in beauty and liveliness of the colors. The grounds of all these different sorts of porcelain are various, some being painted on white, others on pink; some in compartments, others without. The spaces between are sometimes of a white, yellow, or pea-green color; or the whole ground is white, with running flowers. This sort and the pea-green in compartments are the newest made and in the most elegant taste.”