The German porcelain painter Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696-1775) plays a very special role in the history of the traditional color laboratory, because he was the one who drove forward the first color developments. He developed 16 refractory onglaze colors, which are part of what is known as Höroldt's basic palette and formed the foundation for another 300 color variations. Among them is the iconic cobalt blue, with which people from all over the world associate the Crossed Swords as well as the Onion pattern. The special feature of this color is that it still appears gray-green when applied and only shines in its familiar blue after glaze firing.

Each porcelain shows the handwriting of the porcelain painter, which, although often not visible to the naked eye, is visible to the trained eye. This arises not only from the very individual brush stroke, but also from the color composition. Porcelain painters receive only the color powder, which they mix with so-called painter's oil and then apply to the white gold. From the very beginning, the apprentices learn how the different consistencies affect the painting and in which ratio the colors have to be mixed in order to hit the perfect nuance afterwards. It is only thanks to the knowledge passed down from generation to generation and the perfection of the master painter that MEISSEN creates handicrafts of the highest perfection. Be it the onion pattern, Indian or flower painting, every single brush stroke has its origin in the in-house color laboratory.