KPM Porcelain is eagerly collected throughout the world because of its fine hand painting and gilt detail. No two pieces are alike because everything is done at KPM by hand.

The first porcelain factory to operate in Berlin, Germany was called Wegely’s Porcelain, named after a Berlin wool merchant, Wilhelm Caspar Wegely. He drew up a wish list for Frederick William I, King of Prussia (also known as Frederick the Great) in 1751. Frederick was eager to have a porcelain (or white gold as it was called in the 19th century) manufactory in Berlin and was quick to offer Wegely an excellent deal with many benefits. The company was successful for five years until the Seven Year’s War broke out in 1756. A year later, Wegely declared bankruptcy and sold his stock, materials and tools to Berlin businessman Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky.

Gotzkowsky built a factory on Leipziger Street which was next to his own property. The company remained there for 100 years in spite of its unfavorable location as it was far from the Spree River. In 1761 Gotzkowsky employed Friedrich Meyer, a student of Meissen’s famous chief modeller, Kandler. Many positions were filled with talented artists. Due to the continued war, Gotzkowsky’s economic situation became extremely precarious. His main customer, Frederick the Great, overdrew his account because of war expenses. On Aug. 4, 1763 Gotzkowsky stopped paying salaries to his employees.

On Sept. 19, 1763 Frederick bought the porcelain company from Gotzkowsky and kept on the staff of 146 employees. He gave it its name and emblem, the royal scepter. The company was now called Konigliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin (KPM) or Kings Porcelain Manufactory. KPM became a model business paying good salaries and benefits to its employees. Operations were streamlined. Handcrafted articles were the basis of the company and its success, and this philosophy continues today. In 1786 Frederick William II, Frederick the Great’s nephew and successor, took over the operation of the company.

KPM had various successes during the next 100 years, as well as hardships during Napoleon’s occupation and two World Wars. In the 1850s the factory moved to a new and much more favorable location at the edge of Tiergarten (Berlin’s city park), as it was close to the Spree River. Both raw material and finished products could be transported by ship. After World War I KPM officially became a state-owned porcelain manufactory as there was no longer a royal family.

During World War II the factory in Berlin was destroyed. Most of the inventory was saved and moved to their factory in Selb. After the war the factory was rebuilt. In 1988 the Berlin Senate decreed that KPM was no longer a state-run company but rather a GmbH (private limited company). In 2006, the senate sold the company to the Berlin banker Jörg Wathman. Since then KPM has undergone steady expansion and increased exports all across the world in luxury markets.

A variety of items

The variety of porcelain items made at KPM is quite extraordinary. The company is noted for its beautiful modeled and decorated dinner, tea and dessert services.

From the beginning of its existence, they were used as state gifts. Frederick the Great presented a cup and saucer to Emperor Joseph II on his coronation. The saucer had an equestrian portrait, and the cup had Joseph’s initials and the crown of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary on a velvet cushion. From 1765 to his death in 1786 Frederick the Great ordered about 21 table services to be given as gifts. Throughout its history KPM dinner services have been highly treasured. In 1996 the award winning Berlin dinner service was created by Italian designer Enzo Mari and KPM’s best craftsman.

Utilitarian dinnerware was also produced by KPM. During World War I the German people were asked to donate gold for iron. On the Kaiser’s request, KPM dispensed with gold decoration for a period. In the 1920’s several rather sturdy dinnerware sets were produced at affordable prices. They had small floral decoration and a limited gold design on the border.

Many decorative items have been produced at KPM, including vases and centerpieces, sweetmeat dishes, clock cases, and lovely porcelain eggs. These were made in the latter part of the 20th century and were decorated with hand-painted flowers highlighted with gilt.

Although Meissen is better known for their porcelain figures, KPM made some beautiful examples. For some reason they weren’t exported to the United States in any great quantity, and examples of KPM figures are rare today. Their best examples were made during the Art Nouveau period when Designer Paul Scheurich came to the company. Scheurich was born in New York in 1883 and moved to Berlin in 1900. He became well known as a graphic artist and designer of theater sets and costumes. During his employment at KPM, he designed a number of lovely figures, including an all white pair, Apollo and Daphne in 1918.

KPM also made a number of parian figures. Parian is a porcelain of a slightly translucent, creamy white body fired to a matte finish. In a 2004 William Jenack auction, a 15 inch KPM parian figure of a nymph with a frog prince sold for $1,400 even though the wings were restored. The company also produced some outstanding animal figures, including Art Nouveau bears, dogs and a variety of colorful song birds. They did a series of miniature ducks and horses with different colored blankets. A number of figures were done all in white.

KPM is world renown for its beautiful painting on porcelain plaques. These were made from the 1850s to the early 20th century. Prices for authentic-signed KPM plaques reach in the thousands of dollars at auctions today. KPM employed famous artists, and most of their plaques are of the highest quality. The plaques are a thin slab of porcelain, usually rectangular or oval in shape. Popular subjects were allegorical after the Old Masters, Watteau paintings, religious subjects and most desirable – portraits of beautiful women. These usually bring the highest prices.

The manufacturing process

Hard paste porcelain at KPM is composed of 50 percent kaolin, 25 percent feldspar and 25 percent quartz. These ingredients are mixed through various processes to insure purity. The more kaolin, the harder the porcelain.

Quartz is a non-plastic mineral that decreases the plasticity of the porcelain . It also aids in the vitrification of porcelain in the kiln. Feldspar is a mineral that softens in temperature, and it contributes to the density and stability. The ingredients are carefully washed and pulverized before they are mixed together. Water is then passed out of the creamy liquid, and this results in a workable material which can be stored for long periods of time until it is needed.

The first step in creating an item is for the modelers to create a plaster model based on the designer’s art work. Then a clay mold is made. This is called a working mold, which is considered one of the most important parts of the production process. From these working molds, the master molds for production are made.

Casting is done from slip which is made by adding water to the powdered mixture. The slip which has all the impurities removed is poured into a mold, and when it comes out of the mold, all the seams are removed with a soft, damp sponge.