Royal Blossom
To this day, the iconic “Snowball Blossoms” are among the most outstanding artistic masterpieces of the Meissen porcelain manufactory. The exceptional quality of the manufactory’s materials is what enabled master modeller Johann Joachim Kaendler to create such detailed structures as the delicate porcelain flowers in the smallest of spaces all the way back in the 18th century. Thanks to his modelling skills and his position later as artistic director, Johann Joachim Kaendler decisively shaped the artistic golden age of the manufactory and its reputation from 1730 on. He succeeded in breathing life not only into figurative sculptures, but also into everyday objects such as teapots, vases, boxes, and tureens. His works set the standard at the court of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, and were extremely coveted and highly valued objects at many royal courts. The “Snowball Blossom” service was created at the behest of Augustus III. In continuation of the manufactory’s rich artisanal tradition, this iconic decor, as part of the “Royal Blossom” collection, is reinterpreted for the first time ever on the purist shape “N°41”.
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HistoryThe opulent “Snowball Blossoms” pattern is an expression of Johann Joachim Kaendler’s exceptional ingenuity. In 1739, the master modeller created the delicate flowers at the behest of King Augustus III for a table service made of porcelain, which had only recently been discovered, and which he used to court his future wife, Maria Josepha of Austria. The cups, pots, vases, boxes, and containers in the service were covered with a lavish abundance of tiny flowers. As Meissen’s artistic director, Kaendler shaped the modelling styles for more than 40 years during the manufactory’s first golden artistic age, which began in 1730. He developed the first formal European design vocabulary for porcelain and would have a lasting influence on European table settings and dishware. As part of the “Royal Blossom” collection, his venerable “Snowball Blossoms” are reinterpreted in relief.
“applied as a relief, the snowball blossoms lend the timeless purist design of the ‘n°41’ collection a delicate finish and an elegance, as well as an exceptional level of detail and accuracy.”
Royal Blossom
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Snowball Blossoms
To this day, Meissen’s artisans are masters in the elaborate techniques required for the creation of the filigree “Snowball Blossoms”. Each individual flower is shaped by hand and garnished with the greatest precision and meticulousness.
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CraftsmanshipAs the oldest trademark in Europe, the Crossed Swords from the coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony have represented the exceptional quality of Meissen porcelain since 1722. To this day, the trademark is applied by hand to every piece of Meissen porcelain in the manufactory’s own cobalt blue by Meissen’s “swordsmen” – painters specialising in the Crossed Swords. In the “Royal Blossom” series, the swords are now also immortalised for the first time as a filigree relief and integrated as such into the richly detailed design. -
Abundantly applied to cups, vases, and boxes, the delicate “Snowball Blossoms” placed extreme demands on the craftsmen of the Meissen porcelain manufactory in Kaendler’s era and continue to do so today. Every single blossom is created by hand, applied to the container with a sharp knife, and then individually hand-painted. Today, the mould for the “Royal Blossom” design is manufactured with the same technical precision in the manufactory’s own model workshop. Every flower in the delicate relief is individually pressed into the plaster mould by hand with a small stamp. The finished plaster moulds are each used for a maximum of 40 casts, so that the relief of each porcelain remains as detailed as the one before. -
The “Snowball Blossoms” design, reinterpreted as a contemporary relief, lends the purist “N°41” table service a delicate surface texture and an elegance that brings modern, crisp precision to any table. The 29 individual items in the collection are stackable and dishwasher safe, in keeping with the spirit of the times. One special highlight is that the saucers can be combined with three different cups, depending on the occasion or the host’s personal preference.