A collection of fine Meissen Porcelain which was damaged by World War II bombing in Dresden after it was seized from Jewish collectors by the Nazis will go on sale on December 8.

Meissen was founded in 1710 in the gothic Albrechtburg castle. It was the first porcelain manufacturer in Europe.

Originally situated in Dresden, in 1710 the factory was moved to the Albrechtsburg in Meissen, where it was more secure and easier to guard the secret of hard paste porcelain. Initial production was, for the most part, red Böttger stoneware and some of it was marked with incised Chinese characters. It wasn’t until 1713 that true porcelain began to take the place of this stoneware.

In 1719, after the death of Böttger, Höroldt took charge of the factory. He was brought to Meissen from Vienna by Samuel Stölzel and created a rich palette of enamel colours to be used in decoration. Höroldt’s work is known as the chinoiseries, and included typical scenes from the orient.

In 1732, around 92 people worked for Meissen, among them the famous modellers J.G. Kirchner and J.J. Kändler.

The dot-period was followed by the Marcolini-period, named after Count Camillo Marcolini who became director of the company in 1774 and held this position until 1814. The Meissen production from this period was marked in undeglaze blue with crossed swords and an asterix in between the cross-pieces. The Marcolini period ended in a crisis for the factory and its debts were enormously high. During the following 10 years attempts were made to improve the Meissen business: Technical innovations were introduced and wares were made in the popular taste of the time. From that point things started to improve.

In 1830 the name of the factory was changed from Königliche Manufaktur to Staatliche Porzellan Manufaktur.

The Meissen factory is still operational and is producing the worlds’ most expensive porcelain.