Candlesticks "Seasons"

Country: Germany

Manufactory: Meissen

Date of establishment: XVIII century

Size (cm): 48*18

Porcelain Story

Well, what can I tell you, my friends, I suffer immensely, reading the desperate calls of subscribers and regular readers of this daily column to quickly show you live works from our porcelain collection. I suffer from the fact that not all our dreams and plans come true within the time frame we have conceived and defined. This means that it is not yet possible to see these fantastic products of the world's best porcelain manufactories. Alas...

A few months ago, I already introduced you to one of the objects of the unique composition ''Seasons'', created by the craftsmen of the very first hard porcelain factory in Europe. Then it was a mantel clock. And now I decided to show you a couple of candlesticks, one of which (on the left) is dedicated to the theme of autumn. After all, today is the first day of autumn. Each of the items included in this rare set tells in detail about the season to which it is dedicated. And you can enjoy the contemplation of every detail - a sheaf of wheat in the hands of a small character or bunches of grapes, or surprisingly thin, as if living, flowers that adorn the main parts of the composition - you can, endlessly. Because, firstly, you are amazed at the skill of sculptors who managed to mold such miracles with their hands, and even save them in such a natural state during firing. And, secondly, it is impossible to understand how all this could reach our time in such an almost perfect state.

I was struck by the incredible skill of the authors of this set, which, in addition to the items indicated here, includes a very large chandelier, replete with many characters, comfortably ''sitting down'' on its many branches. And now imagine that for many years this most beautiful chandelier has been folded in its secluded place, inaccessible to the eyes of not only my friends and subscribers, but also myself. I'm suffering...

By the way, this very day, September 1, is considered the day of the discovery for Europe of the secret of the production of hard Chinese porcelain. It happened in 1712, when the famous French traveler and Jesuit missionary Francois Xavier d'Entrecol, while in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen, discovered, compiled and sent to France a detailed description of the composition and technological sequence of Chinese porcelain production. And soon in Limoges began to produce real porcelain. Almost the same as in Saxony, where the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger and the scientist Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus, who became the founders of the porcelain manufactory in Meissen, came to the secrets of its production a little earlier (and absolutely independently!). It was this legendary couple who came to the conclusion that their hard porcelain is similar in its characteristics to Chinese porcelain, and its main components were named kaolin (china clay) and ''Chinese stone'' (a type of feldspar). Well, and, of course, the water used in production was of great importance. However, these are already technical details ...