Royal Copenhagen China has beautiful design. (The teapot and formal tea cup are good examples.)
The Story of Royal Copenhagen
by Evelyn Marie Stuart
Early in the 20th century surprisingly life-like little porcelain animals, in soft gray and white or tan and white, were the first Royal Copenhagen objects to enliven upscale department stores in the United States with their graceful humor.
These examples were showing the talents of the skilled artisans working at the Royal Copenhagen factory in Denmark. After these little Danish follies became popular, beautiful vases and plaques with an underglaze of blue floral decorations painted against a dazzling white porcelain surface were shipped over for sale. Next came scenes of blue and white seagulls soaring over waves and dunes. There was a lack of formality in these designs. The painting went totally around the vase in a painterly manner, from any side, the object-de-art had a charm and a complete view. This was new, and unlike traditional vases which were created with one particular point of view, restricting how they are positioned.
From the beginning of Royal Copenhagen’s factory, their china has been a leader in creating new processes and ideas in the history of the craft. Connoisseurs and other china manufacturers have recognized in these wares and their princely air, a crown of supremacy, a Royal label. They are recognized as one of the oldest and most valued manufacturers dinnerware, now known for their blue underglaze painting and their pure white Danish porcelain!
Royal Copenhagen has a story. A story as romantic and only a little less ancient than “Sevres”,”Dresden” or “Worcester” pottery has behind their products. Interwoven in the company’s history is the romance of kings and the great culture of Denmark. Modern Copenhagen also arrived in the 20th century as a city of innovation, introducing new ideas and inspirations and leading a Danish design movement that defines mid-century modern.
(ABOVE) The state of the art in Porcelain at the time Royal Copenhagen porcelain was founded: (a) French “Serves”, (b) German “Dresden” and (c) English “Worcester” porcelains.
Now Royal Copenhagen porcelain is considered the highest of craftsmanship and technique in porcelain-ware and has some of the most sought-after and most artistic place setting available in the world of tableware and design. We will take a close look at their classic blue and white fluted pattern in this article, through photos and table settings
But the real beginning of the story of Royal Copenhagen china goes back to the days of Frederick V of Denmark… (story continues after the photographs).
(The Story of Royal Copenhagen china, continued from the top of the page.)
Frederick V of Denmark, who in 1746 built the royal factory at Christianshavn. With the aid of Saxon potters and a Frenchman Louis Fournier to successfully manufacture soft paste or artificial porcelain similar to that of Sevres.
After the death of Frederick V in 1766 a lack of interest in his project resulted in the decline of the industry. A young chemist Heinrich Miiller, had long cherished the idea of establishing an actual porcelain factory and had traveled seeking the secret of compounding true porcelain.With his new-found knowledge, Miiller produced his first piece of true porcelain in Copenhagen in 1773 and organized his company for its manufacture in 1776.
Through a privy counselor to Dowager Queen of Denmark, Juliane Marie, royal interest and patronage was secured and the fires of the old factory of Frederick V’s were rekindled. The reins of government had landed in the hands of Juliane Marie. It was with her influence and support that Danish porcelain-ware was able to take its place alongside of those of France, Saxony, and Britain. She suggested the factory have the royal trademark. That is preserved to this day, the three wavy blue lines representing Denmark’s three waterways, Oresund, Storebelt, and Lillebelt.
For Miiller this job was a labor of love. He held only one share of stock in the company and as director collected only a small salary. He was bound by contract to remain in the employ of the royal factory and to keep secret all his knowledge of the art of porcelain, including his own discoveries and inventions.
His supply of workmen were untrained novices. To fix this he first brought in experienced managers from Meissen’s German factories, but they proved to be overbearing and he was obliged to dispense with their services. In order to secure a competent assistant, he agreed to pay a part of his salary to secured A. C. Luplau a master. This man together with capable artists, working under the direction of Miiller, succeeded in producing a new and beautiful porcelain ware distinguished by its extreme whiteness, the richness, and transparency of the glaze and the refinement of the decorations.
Miiller was hailed as a genius by the Danes. A prohibition of the importation of other European porcelains assisted their business in thriving, even earthenware was excluded by law. The Danish people patronized their national china factory both through loyal appreciation and by necessity. Copenhagen porcelain of this period was conceded by experts to rank above that of all Europe and to have evolved a distinct national style in body, glaze, modeling, and decorations.
Lord Nelson in a letter to his Lady Hamilton, the great English admiral assures her that he will be sending some Royal Copenhagen porcelain for her china collection as a souvenir of his victory over the Danish fleet at the battle of Copenhagen.
This battle, Nelson described as the worst of all of his engagements. So fierce was the resistance of the Danish fleet and so little did they leave to capture that even in defeat the officers were regarded as heroes.
What has become of the pieces of china Lord Nelson promised to Lady Hamilton, no one knows.
The Famous “Flora Danica” Service
Among the famous place-setting services turned out by Royal Copenhagen, the “Flora Danica” stands out. It was designed as a gift from Crown Prince Frederick to Catherine the Second of Russia. When completed the set numbered three thousand pieces, however, Catherine died six years before the great service was finished. Miiller retired from the direction of the factory with the execution of this order.
Holm, Miiller’s assistant, was also a botanist which accounts for the influence of the decoration on the famous “Flora Danica” service. All the herbs and plants of Denmark were hand painted on this set. Some of the artists rebelled at the task of reproducing, with scientific accuracy, all of these plants, and argued that it made each item unique and the set inconsistent.
Bombings from disruptive wars and the influence of the machine age and commercialism caused handmade porcelain to suffer a worldwide decline. The renaissance for Royal Copenhagen started in the 1880s under the direction of Philip Schou, who started a new era of aesthetic endeavors. Artist Arnold Krog was hired in 1885 who created a new style in the adornment of Danish porcelain. Once again Copenhagen was to lead the world a step forward in the ceramic arts. Arnold Krog embraced the fact that the body of the porcelain is smooth, white, hard and by itself, of surprising beauty. He decided to not to cover this surface up with colors or with gold in an overglazed style, as his predecessors had done. Krog wanted to paint an underglaze of blue using dots and lines in his own artistic design. From this premises, the principle of underglaze painting was accepted and has been used since with tremendous success.
Philip Schou and Arnold Krog set out upon an expedition of discovery searching for new inspirations in the other factories of Europe. They failed until by chance the artist was permitted to view a private collection of porcelains from Japan and China. Here at last, he found the suggestions he had sought. He did not blindly copy nor even adapt the Oriental designs, as the earliest manufacturers of European porcelain had done, instead, he grasped the principles and applied them to his designs and scenic paintings.
Copenhagen porcelains are the whitest and hardest china in the world and are fired at the highest temperature. This affects the color range of the underglaze, only the hues that can resist the great heat be used. This delightful restraint imparts a satisfying quality of tone characteristics to Danish porcelain. Fauns and grays, watery blues and soft greens, ashen rose and pale gold are the palettes. The colors of nature encapsulated in the wonderful atmospheric effect of Copenhagen’s deep clear glaze.
At the Paris International Exhibition of 1889, the event served to establish the value of this new approach to the old art of porcelain-ware in the eyes of the art-loving world. “The beautiful exhibits of the royal porcelain factory of Copenhagen are quite a revelation to us. They show quite a new spirit in the art of porcelain making.” Thus Denmark added a new treasure.
Naturalistic landscapes were painted under the glaze and possessed a charm showing blue lapping waters, stretches of dunes or salt marsh, wheeling gulls and flying clouds. These mirrored the landscapes and seascapes of Denmark. Tender tones and melting light, serenity and the pensive charm of lonely landscapes and waters enchant our fancy.
Fish and storks, frogs, geese and ducks, the cat, the dog, and cattle in the peasant’s barnyard, all appeared on plaques, plates, and vases, painted in the distinct manner of Copenhagen. Even scenes from the tales of Hans Christian Anderson were part of the subjects depicted.
Each piece of Royal Copenhagen porcelain is a work of art.
(Source: Information and photos courtesy of Royal Copenhagen Company, Denmark, and information edited from an academic thesis on the history of Royal Copenhagen by Evelyn Marie Stuart.)
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