18TH CENTURY MEISSEN GERMAN PORCELAIN LARGE BOWL. Edge chip. Matching pot on sale. Approx 16.8 cm wide.

Meissen porcelain was the first ever European porcelain that was made out of a hard paste. It was developed in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. The production started in 1710 and the company is still active today. Meissen worked closely with artists, sculptors and painters to give the porcelain its famous shapes, glazes and patterns. Some of the most prominent of these are Johan Joachim Kaendler, Johann Friedrich Eberlein, Peter Reinecke, Michel-Victor Acier, Ernst August Leuteritz, Erich Hsel and Karl Petermann. Over the years Meissen has produced a vast array of services and patterns including the 1737-43 series Schwanenservice (Swan Service) and the Blue Onion pattern in 1739 inspired by a chinese bowl from the Kangxi-period. Other popular patterns are the Court Dragon and Red Dragon tableware featuring Chinese dragons and some are still in production today like the Purple Rose pattern and the Vine-leaf pattern.