Everlasting flower pattern
The everlasting flower pattern is a widely used underglaze decor . Due to its adaptability, it has enjoyed great popularity since its invention in 1740 to the present day. Many variations of the decor can be found on earthenware and porcelain . Under this term, other names are recorded: Blue model , Ilmenau straw flower pattern , straw flower , straw model , straw pattern , straw decor , Prussian blue model , Civil Onion , Sachs pattern , blue Saks, Indian blue , Frisian blue , Bergisch blue , garlic pattern , parsley pattern , blue-white .
history
The everlasting flower pattern was developed by the Meissen porcelain manufacturer . European porcelain was initially modeled on imports from China and Japan . From there they came to Europe via the Ostindische Compagnie . The flowers from the eastern part of India , initially foreign to European eyes, were referred to as "Indian flowers", a reference to the name Indian blue later used. The painters at the Meissen Manufactory initially copied the originals, but soon found a decor based on this style, the well-known onion pattern . The onion pattern initially appeared as "ordinary blue" in the catalogs of the Meissen manufactory. It was not until 1860 that the decision was made to give in to the popular term "onion pattern". Around 1740, at around the same time as the widespread onion pattern, the everlasting flower pattern was designed in Meißen using East Asian models, which was called the "straw model" from the start. This décor was mainly applied to the shape called "ribbed", later called "broken rod". The visible surface of those porcelain pieces was evenly ribbed, but the ribs were interrupted at regular intervals and continued somewhat offset.
The blue color
Cobalt blue was used early in Persia to decorate pottery, in China it was used in ceramic glazes from the time of the Tang Dynasty (618–906 AD) . The Asian models, however, were made of a softer material that could be machined at lower temperatures. So around 1715 August the Strong asked the manufactory to finally make him porcelain with “Rohadabläh”. An explanation of the word from before the spelling, when you wrote what you spoke, would be roi de bleu , royal blue , spoken in Saxon. The difficulty in meeting the royal requirement was initially to find a blue color that could withstand the high firing temperatures. However, the number of underglaze colors is much lower than that of onglaze colors because only a few dyes - all of them metal oxides - can withstand the very high temperatures (1300–1410 ° C) of the glaze . In the 18th century, therefore, only cobalt blue was known as an underglaze color.
The pattern
The main flowers of the decor were originally a peony (peony), a chrysanthemum and a lotus flower . Painted saucers and cups are therefore sometimes divided into three fields of the surface to be painted so that each main flower could be represented separately in one field. However, there are usually only two different flowers. Other design elements of the decor are tendrils, tufts of grass, scales and palm fronds .
In each field a curved tendril emerging from a tuft of grass initially winds to the left. From this another curved tendril branches clockwise, first upwards and then to the right around a central flower (main flower), which is also connected to the same tuft of grass by a tendril. At the highest point of the curved tendril there is a small flower (zenith flower) and further branches with leaves. These leaves originally looked like palm fronds. By modernizing the decor, the palm fronds were stylized and later only represented with lines and dots ( palmettes ). Each corner of a decorative field closes with a basket or shed at the edge of the plate and with a tuft of grass at the center of the plate. Such a pattern unit is separated from the others by dividing lines. In the mirror, in the middle of a plate, there is also another large flower (center flower).
For larger plates, platters, and bowls, there are four fields that border an inner circle or oval and an outer edge. These clearly divided fields make it easier to transfer the decoration to curved surfaces such as cups and jugs. The classic quarter division of the pattern is abandoned when it comes to very large or particularly small objects. There are also very similar decors and "saving decors" that were intended for export. Here only three instead of four fields were painted.
distribution
The everlasting flower pattern has since been adopted by a variety of factories. The Meissen straw model was not quite as popular as the onion pattern, but it was more common than all other blue patterns. This was an incentive, especially for the Thuringian porcelain factories, to also imitate this decor, also on ribbed pieces. Every manufacture changed the pattern conceived in Meissen, varied it without deviating too far from the original.
The first type of decoration was with a brush. The pre-fired porcelain shards, which were absorbent, such as a clay flower pot, were painted with a cobalt-based paint. Every stroke of the brush was permanent and irreversible. Nevertheless, the blue painters were ranked lower in the hierarchy of painters in terms of reputation. In contrast to the other porcelain painters, they only painted with one color. However, after the glaze firing, the underglaze blue decor could be "heightened" (upgraded) with red overglaze paint and additional gold decoration.
However, competition among each other forced us to constantly produce cheaper. So painting became easier and simpler to a minimal version, which consisted only of curved lines and indicated flowers and leaves. In the Ilmenau manufactory, the already simplified original was changed to a new design. Blossoms and tendrils became circles and segments of a circle. The flowers remained unfilled white. This reduced the time required to paint, the number of brush approaches and tool changes. The new design was also called "straw decor" among many other names. In order to clearly delimit the variety of terms, the term "exchanged everlasting flower pattern" was used later. In the sales catalogs (Preiscourant) of the Rauenstein porcelain manufacturer, the everlasting flower pattern that was exchanged was labeled "Blue Model". The porcelain manufacturer Rauenstein also used the term: Berlin blue model for the straw decoration it produced around 1906 . (Straw decor)
The type of painting has many names and has long since achieved worldwide fame beyond the borders of the country and the continent. In order to distinguish the decors from one another, in addition to the well-known onion pattern, in Berlin at least one speaks of a "parsley pattern" (straw decor) and a "garlic pattern" (blue model). The stoneware factory Villeroy & Boch in Dresden-Neustadt called their variant of the everlasting flower pattern 1906 "Sachsmuster" (SAXONY).
Older terms refer to hand-painted decor
- Straw model (Meissen),
- Thuringian straw pattern (Tettau porcelain factory),
- Ilmenau everlasting flower pattern (Porzellanfabrik Ilmenau),
- Blue model ( Rauenstein porcelain factory ),
- Musselmalet (Royal Copenhagen),
- Indian Blue (Victoria Porcelain Factory).
In Great Britain the decor is called “Immortelle”. In Danish one speaks of "Musselmalet". The term is probably due to the often ribbed surface (broken rod) of the painted porcelain. It is reminiscent of the shell of a scallop . The everlasting flower pattern is called bleu cannelé in French . Ever since 1775, everlasting flower patterns have been made entirely by hand in the Royal Porcelain Factory in Copenhagen ( Royal Copenhagen ). From there, since the production of this decor began in the late 1870s, it became a popular item that was exported to many countries. The name used internationally is blue fluted . Everlasting flower patterns are now being made by hand again in the Meissen porcelain factory.
In factories and factories that also made the Meissen porcelain pattern, other techniques were later used. Parts of the pattern were applied with a rubber stamp and then completed with hand-painted lines. Around 1900 it became possible to apply the pattern in copper gravure printing to a carrier film, from which it is transferred to the dishes. Each step of rationalization led to a standardization of the product. The individuality of the tableware item has disappeared with the introduction of reproducible industrial products. Consistent mass production is possible for this. Linked to the way of decoration, from pure hand painting to printing, is therefore also the value of the respective porcelain.
The following names are printed decors
- Amalienburg (Heinrich Porzellan, Hoechst Porcelain Manufactory),
- Dresmer Blau (Porcelain Manufactory Wallendorf),
- Indian blue ( Porzellanfabrik Winterling , Porzellanfabrik Bareuther),
- Blau Saks (Wilhelm Jäger porcelain factory, Kahla porcelain factory ).
The number of manufacturers who produced a variant of the everlasting pattern by far exceeds the number of porcelain manufacturers listed here. 99 porcelain manufacturers alone produced the Ilmenau everlasting flower pattern .
Kitchen utensils, such as storage jars, were often painted with one face, while the back remained white. Children's and doll's dishes were also rarely fully decorated. The pattern has also been used on coffee blankets, serviettes, stationery, tin cans, towels and curtains since the 19th century. But the decor is not only found on ceramic products. Metal processing companies introduced another variant of the pattern to sheet metal goods around 1900. Enamelled spoon trays, soup ladles, kettles, teapots, etc. are well-known. Old Belgian charcoal stoves for the kitchen also have tiles printed with straw decorations. These stoves are clad in front and sides with small (8.5 × 8.5 cm), decorated earthenware tiles. In the middle of each tile there is a hole for a countersunk screw through which the tile is screwed to the stove.
Terms such as Bergisch blue or blue and white are used and refer to the region of the porcelain factories.
Everlasting flower pattern
The actual everlasting flower pattern was used under this name by the following companies.
- Meissen Porcelain Manufactory
- Porcelain Manufactory Volkstedt
- Porcelain Manufactory Rudolstadt
- Limbach Porcelain Manufactory
- Porcelain Manufactory Ludwigsburg
- Porcelain Manufactory Hoechst
- Porcelain Manufactory Frankenthal
- Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin
- Royal Porcelain Manufactory Copenhagen
- Bing & Grøndahl porcelain factory .
Indian blue
This name stands for one of the traditional porcelain decors , the model was decors of Chinese porcelain in the 18th century . Like other names of the everlasting pattern, the pattern color and the reference to the origin of the pattern shape are named here. The decor is used by many manufacturers, for example Meißener Porzellan , Winterling, Arzberg , Königlich Tettau , Annaburg Porzellan and Villeroy & Boch .
Blue saks
The term Blau Saks or Blauw Saks (Blauer Sachse) was used, for example, when the VEB United Porcelain Works Kahla exported parts of its production to the Netherlands .
Frisian blue
A variation is the August Warnecke decor , also known as “Frisian Blue” or “Dresmer Blue”, in which the respective flower in the middle is highlighted in light blue, similar to the onion pattern . The shapes vary from circular to octagonal. Ribbed porcelain is still used in jugs and cups to this day in addition to a smooth surface. Forms of decor adapted by other companies are generally referred to as frieze patterns .
Ilmenau everlasting flower pattern
Since 1785 the Ilmenauer Porzellanfabrik (founded in 1777) produced everlasting flower patterns with a simplified painting, which was offered as "Ilmenau straw flower pattern" or imaginatively as "Ilmenau onion pattern". Factories in Volkstedt (founded 1762), Wallendorf (founded 1764), Großbreitenbach (founded 1778), Gera (founded 1779) and Rauenstein (founded 1783) followed.
Blue model
With this name the products with the same and related designs of the following companies were offered and traded.
- Rauenstein porcelain factory
- Wallendorf porcelain factory
- Tettau porcelain factory
- Schney china factory
- Hüttensteinach porcelain factory
- Swaine china factory
- Probstzella porcelain factory
- Wirz & Riffart porcelain factory
Straw decor
The samples of this type come from the following companies.
- Porcelain Manufactory Fürstenberg
- E. Teichert porcelain factory
- August Rappsilber porcelain factory
- Porcelain factory Kalk (Cologne)
- Rhenish Porcelain Manufactory Oberkassel
- Porcelain factory FA Reinecke
- Moschendorf porcelain factory
- Porcelain factory Wilhelm Jäger
- Joseph Hohmann porcelain factory
- Carl Schumann porcelain factory
- Porcelain factory E. Mühlenfeld
- Lorenz Hutschenreuther porcelain factory
- Hermann Ohme porcelain factory
- Porcelain factory C + E Carstens
- Porcelain factory Duisdorf
- Stadtlengsfeld porcelain factory
- Simson brothers porcelain factory
literature
- Robert E. Röntgen: Blue painting on Meissen porcelain , Edition Leipzig, ISBN 3-361-00556-6
- Ludwig Danckert: Handbuch des Europäische Porzellans , p. 241/242, Ilmenauer Strohblumenmuster, new edition 1992, Prestel-Verlag, Munich, ISBN 3-7913-1173-5
- Bernhard von Barsewisch : Keramos booklet 121, underglaze blue painting , Rasch printing a. Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, Bramsche 1988, ISSN 0453-7580 .
- Georgine Margaretha Witta: Collectors Journal, Issue 12, December 1989, Der Strohblumendekor , pages 1806-1809, Journal-Verlag Schwend GmbH, Schwäbisch Hall 1989, ISSN 0342-7684 .
- Ellen Mey: Die Porzellanfabrik Moschendorf 1878–1957, Strohhalmdekor , p. 66–69, North Upper Franconian Association for Nature, History and Regional Studies, Hof 1996, ISBN 3-928626-26-4 .
- Otto Walcha: Meissen porcelain. From the beginning to the present . Dresden: Verlag der Kunst, 1986, 8th edition, ISBN 3-364-00012-3 .
- Günther Sterba: Utility porcelain from Meissen . Edition Leipzig, 1988, ISBN 3-361-00193-5 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Address book of the ceramic industry 1906 , publisher: Müller & Schmidt, p. 168
- ↑ Address book of the ceramic industry. Verlag Müller & Schmidt, 1906, p. 254.
- ^ Ludwig Danckert: Handbuch des Europäische Porzellans, new edition 1992, Prestel-Verlag, Munich, ISBN 3-7913-1173-5 , p. 242
- ↑ Indian blue at Chamore
