Porcelain Manufactory Kilchberg-Schooren

Porcelain Manufactory Kilchberg-Schooren around 1790

The Kilchberg-Schooren porcelain factory existed from 1763 to 1790 in Kilchberg, Bendlikon , in the canton of Zurich . Until 1906, several generations of entrepreneurs first produced porcelain in the factory , then the cheaper faiences , manganese-glazed ceramics and, at times, earthenware .

history

The Natural Research Society in Zurich , which promoted the investigation of minerals and earth in the canton of Zurich, had suggested the construction of a porcelain and faience factory. The company was founded in 1763 by a consortium of five Zurich-based manufacturers. Members of the Johann Conrad Heidegger family, to which Salomon Gessner also belonged, were mainly involved . Johann Adam Spengler became the first director . His son Johann Jakob Spengler modeled with Valentin Sonnenschein for the porcelain factory. Mainly tea and coffee sets made of porcelain and faience were made. From 1778 the company tried to imitate English earthenware (hard ceramics, "pipe earth") and from 1785 this tableware was decorated in black using a transfer printing process. A moderate Rococo style was cultivated in the treasure trove of shapes and in the decor (flowers and idyllic landscapes) . Since the manufactory did not turn to the newfangled classicism, the expensive porcelain goods from Schooren found insufficient sales.

The company ran into financial difficulties in 1790 and went bankrupt. It was dissolved in 1791 and sold to Matthias Nehracher in 1793. After his death, it was taken over by Hans Jakob Nägelin, who only produced faience and earthenware.

After the cessation of faience production in 1906, the historic buildings directly on Lake Zurich were converted into a country estate and have been used as a private country estate since 1919. In October 2002, completely surprising for the canton archeology, the former factory buildings were blown up in order to be able to realize a new development with condominiums.

Carnival musician, around 1770

In 2003 the canton archeology investigated the area under the rubble. The condition of the 19th century could be documented on the basis of building foundations and the remains of four kilns. Large quantities of production waste and technical ceramics were found in the bank area and in the abandoned kilns. This made it possible to determine the production range with the shapes and decoration variations, as well as a breakdown of the complex operations of the manufacturing process (molding, firing, glazing). The finds from 150 years of ceramic production revealed few ornate gems, everyday dishes predominated.

In the Conrad Ferdinand Meyer -Haus in Kilchberg a representative cross-section of the manufactory's work is shown on crockery and everyday objects, as well as a large part of the so-called " Einsiedler Service", of which other pieces are in the Zurich Zunfthaus zur Meisen , in the collection of the State Museum Zurich are located. In Agentenhaus in Horgen a private collection of figurines and dishes of porcelain factory Kilchberg is issued.

literature

Heinrich Angst : Zurich porcelain. In: Schweizer Illustrierte , Vol. 9, 1905, pp. 2-19.
Annamaria Matter: 150 years of ceramic production on the left bank of Lake Zurich. In: Archeology Switzerland: Bulletin of Archeology Switzerland , 27, (2004), H. 1., S. 53f. doi : 10.5169 / seals-20476
Annamaria Matter: The archaeological investigation in the former Kilchberg-Schooren porcelain factory. Monographs of Canton Archeology Zurich 43, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-905681-73-4 .
Rudolf Schnyder : The Einsiedler service from 1775/76 from the Zurich porcelain factory. In: Art + Architecture in Switzerland / Art + architecture en Suisse / Arte + architettura in Svizzera, Volume 48 (1997), Issue 3, pp. 60–63. Digitized
Barbara Orelli-Messerli: Zurich porcelain from a Jewish family: About the origin of a passion for collecting. In: Badener Neujahrsblätter, 73, pp. 19–35. Digitized