Polishing the Crown – The Influence of Artists and Scholars on Royal Berlin Porcelain Orders

Dr. Samuel Wittwer, director of Palaces and Collections at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg

In the representation of the Prussian monarchs Berlin porcelain played quite a role. Since the foundation of KPM in 1763 vases and other decorative objects were displayed in significant places at the royal palaces to help in proclaiming the king’s glory. On the table, services had to convince guests of the royal taste and widely observed state gifts to other courts served as ambassadors of power – in a highly sophisticated atmosphere of nuances. What a perfect trap for a king to make a fool of himself, if these porcelains turned out to be slightly off-key and missing the intended allusion! But who were the advisers to preserve the crown from ridiculousness? And how were they involved? The lecture shows some outstanding examples and the story of their genesis.