An 18th-century take on a 20th-century collection

摘要

Made in China from the seventh century, white porcelain was unknown in Europe until the late 13th century. Admired for its lightness and translucency, its manufacture was shrouded in secrecy until 1708, when the chemist Johann Friedrich Bottger fired kaolin at high temperatures and hit the 'white gold' jackpot for his patron Augustus II (1670-1733), Elector of Saxony and later King of Poland. Infected with maladie de porcelaine (porcelain fever), Augustus collected Chinese and Japanese porcelain obsessively and founded the Meissen Royal Porcelain Manufactory in 1710.