Augustus the Strong and the "red porcelain" from Saxony

Dr. Julia Weber, Director of the Porzellansammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Even a century after its invention, the so-called Böttger stoneware was still referred to as the first Saxon porcelain. For contemporaries, it was far more than a particularly fine red stoneware that offered entirely new possibilities for refinement due to the density and hardness of its body and thus could advance to become luxury goods of the first rank. Born out of the royal art of alchemy, the new material was associated with ideas of mercantilist success and political ambitions, which explain why Augustus the Strong held on to Böttger stoneware even after his sensational white porcelain had long since won the favour of buyers.

The lecture will begin by looking at collections of Böttger stoneware in the 18th century to find out why this specific material was valued and how it was classified in different contexts. Special attention will be paid to the promotion of "red porcelain" by Augustus the Strong, which will be traced on the basis of individual pieces and partly new archival sources.