Dresden Porcelain Collection

Geschichte

The Dresden Porcelain Collection is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen of Dresden, Germany. It is located in the Zwinger Palace.HistoryThe collection was founded in 1715 by the Saxon Prince-Elector Augustus the Strong, and was originally housed in the Japanese Palace (then known as the "Dutch Palace") on the banks of the Elbe. It moved into the Johanneum in 1876. The collection largely survived World War II thanks to evacuation, and moved into its current home in the south part of the Zwinger in 1962.CollectionToday the collection features about 20,000 porcelain artefacts.One strength is the collection of traditional Chinese and Japanese porcelain acquired by Augustus the Strong. Above all this includes blue-and-white porcelain from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in particular the "Dragoon Vases" acquired by Augustus from King Frederick William I in exchange for a regiment of dragoons. There are also colourful famille-verte and famille-rose items, white Dehua ceramics, Japanese Arita porcelain, and ceramics made especially for export.

"As the craze for all things Chinese swept across Europe, the continent fell in love with porcelain. August the Strong was the only person to know the secret of how to make it. In 1710, he founded the first European porcelain manufactory in Meissen and made this exotic material into its unique calling card. Of the many thousands of pieces that he amassed, the most stunning and rare are to be found in the Zwinger in Dresden today."