Weimar /Weimar /

Porcelain by Weimar Porzellan.

The difficult history of the porcelain factory – multiple transitions from one owner to another, bankruptcies and strikes, nationalizations and financial crises only confirm the well–known truth - real art is able to endure everything. The quality, proven by time and the difficult conditions of German history, makes us look at the porcelain products of Weimar Porzellan in a new way: to see in them two hundred years of experience in processing noble material.

The noble and perfect porcelain of the Weimar Porzellan trademark is truly a work of art. The masters who worked at the manufactory 200 years ago left a rich legacy – the philosophy of porcelain. And the numerous change of owners of the enterprise has not weakened, but has multiplied and brought to our days the true perfection of craftsmanship.

The foundation of the porcelain manufactory by K.A.Shpek.

The birth of the factory took place in June 1790 - more than two hundred years ago, K.A.Shpek, a connoisseur of ceramics, founded and approved porcelain production in the town of Blankenhain. For this purpose, he acquired an arsenal, where he launched production to eliminate fire. And the raw materials – alumina and quartz sand containing spar, were delivered from the surrounding area. Next to the lake, the manufacturer built a mill in which he ground and washed the raw materials.

Work on the manufacture of products made of noble material began to boil. It was overshadowed only by political instability and the constant change of power. And each time the head agreed with the authorities to save his brainchild and continue working. Seven years after the foundation, the best items were exhibited in Leipzig. The local bourgeoisie liked them very much, the volumes increased dramatically. More than one and a half hundred people worked at the factory, providing the market with dishes for middle-class people and the whimsical bourgeoisie. The production workshops became so powerful that even the fire that occurred in the first quarter of the 19th century could not destroy them. The reconstruction was carried out in the shortest possible time, and the volume of products was constantly growing.

Unfortunately, the flourishing of the manufactory did not last long and ended with the death of its first owner – Christian Andreas Speck in 1830. Multiple changes of owners, the transition of the enterprise from one hand to another, bankruptcy and nationalization, as well as the civil revolution – that's what the manufactory had to go through in the next 20 years.

Modernization of workshops by the Fasolt family.

Only in the middle of the 19th century, the Fasolt family, which bought the organization, decided to modernize the plant. It was during this period that a special factory symbol was introduced – the brand of the plant in the form of a rhombic shield. The owners built three new furnaces in which firing was carried out, purchased a steam plant that drives the mill. A successful combination of circumstances was the construction of a railway line passing next to the main workshops. All these innovations gave the manufactory huge advantages – with the growth of volumes, the cost of products decreased due to the mechanization of labor and inexpensive transportation.

The first export of products abroad.

The year 1900 was a landmark for the manufactory. The word "GERMANY" is added to the trademark made in the form of a shield, which served as proof of large volumes of exports abroad. The highest quality began to be in demand abroad, partnerships were established with the influential porcelain organization Duxer. As a result of the exchange of experience, employees, as well as products and novelties, the leaders of the concern have achieved stable interchangeability of resources. The company grew and strengthened, its philosophy developed, and the skill of the workers was embodied in the splendor of masterpieces from porcellann.

The blow to the factory was the sudden outbreak of the First World War. Exports stopped abruptly, and there was practically no one to work – most of the workers left to fight. Only before the end of the war, the next owner buys the plant and tries to breathe life into it.

The era of Ernst Carstens.

Renaming the manufactory to "E. Carstens KG", having provided the trademark with a crown and a wreath, the owner began a new era. New contracts for the supply of raw materials, fuel, personnel, rising inflation – all this made it difficult to restore production capacity. But Ernst Carstens, an experienced businessman from Hamburg, knew his business. He updated the assortment, lowered prices, revived the escort. In addition, it was during the possession of Karstens that the technique of Weimar painting was mastered. Known everywhere, cobalt painting of white shards is the highest achievement of porcelain art. The excellent radiance of products made of noble material, decorated with gold ornaments – filigree craftsmanship and unique technique. That's what the plant needed, that's what the fastidious customer demanded. Many countries have learned about the manufactory – in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East.

The 20th century is a new round of factory development.

By the way, the official registration of the Weimar Porzellan trademark occurred only in the first third of the 20th century. The iron leadership of Carstens was quite tough – difficult conditions for workers led to periodic strikes. But thanks to this, the company withstood the global economic crisis – the prices of goods were falling so much that the director simply could not pay his workers wages. Once the workers went on strike for three whole months, demanding the money they earned.

Nationalization of production.

In the middle of the 20th century, local authorities decided to nationalize the plant and create a modern, technologically modern and productive enterprise. Oddly enough, it was the authorities who invested huge amounts of money in modernization. Buildings, equipment, modern machinery and workshops appeared here in the 1960s. Yes, the company ceased to be independent – it turned out to be part of a huge concern for the creation of tableware, focused on Eastern export markets. Naturally, as a result of this, the artistic and creative component has suffered significantly. Focused on financial profit, the plant makes the products that the market requires.

The new era of Weimar Porzellan.

This situation continues until the 1990s, until the management of the organization was divided among three leading managers - a financier, a worker and a sales manager. They owned a controlling stake, which gave them the right to manage and manage the company. At the beginning of 2007, the sixth-generation master, Turpin Rosenthal, began to manage the company. It is under his leadership that masterpieces of porcelain art are born on it, which we are lucky to appreciate.