Dish 1715 - 1735

This dish was created at the Meissen Manufactory, which began producing porcelain in the early 18th century. The dish is made of hard-paste porcelain, a material developed in Europe to imitate Chinese porcelain. The scene is painted in delicate black enamel on a glossy white ground. Notice how the material itself, a fine, smooth clay fired at high temperatures, influences the dish's appearance. The process of firing gives it a pristine, almost ethereal quality. The Meissen factory relied on a complex division of labor to produce these objects. Some artisans were responsible for shaping the clay, others for firing, and still others for painting the decoration. This industrial model made luxury goods accessible to a wider market, but also masked the intensive labor involved. Considering its material and the way it was made allows us to appreciate its cultural significance, and the complex relationship between craft, industry, and consumption in the 18th century.