See how the porcelain manufacturer Désirée made their
products.
For the Désirée plate to become the plate we know, it had to
undergo a long range of different processes, and it had to be
handled by many different people to, finally, be sold - if, that
is, it got that far. Follow the plate's way from clay to porcelain
plate through the photos below:
After having mixed the minerals kaolin, feldspar and quarts with
water until a cream like substance was achieved, water was removed
under high pressure in a filter press.
What was left was a filter mass with a water content of 18-20%.
This mass could be thrown into plates and oter items.
To throw plates the Desiree porcelain manufacturer used plaster
moulds. This manufacturer was particularly known for his Mother's
day plates and his Christmas plates with motifs in blue underglaze
decoration (Click here to find
list of all Christmas plates 1970-2002 with information about
motif, designer, prices etc.). The motifs of the plates were
hand carved as relief in a plaster mould, which was used for the
production. This handicraft requires extensive knowledge by the
artist drawing the motif and by the person modellingand applying
this to the plaster mould as a hand carved relief
From the hand carved original mould, the work moulds were made.
Only a limited number of plates could be produced in each work
mould. The mould then had to be discarded.
Now the trowing of the plates could begin. At this time the clay
had been trough a process removing air pockets under vacuum, and
the moist clay was pressed into the shape of the clay cylinders
seen to the left in the photo above. Then a slice of clay was cut
off and placed on the plaster mould, which was then rotated. During
rotation the slice of clay was rolled out between the plaster mould
and the so called roller head. This is the process which shapes the
plate from the wet clay.
After the plate was shaped, it went through a drying process,
still in the plaster mould, and it was controlled carefully, to
make sure that all details in the motif was copied from the plaster
mould to the clay. Only the very best plates got through this
inspection, and a large number had to be destroyed. Before the
plates were sent on in the process, the edge was rounded off in a
trimming process.
The approved plates were then burnt for the first time at a
temperature of 940 degrees Celcius, and when taken out of the oven,
they were checked once again for possible cracks. When they had
passed this test, they had their stamp at the bottom. This stamp
included the munufacturer's name, the name of the plate's motif,
the designer's name and the initials of the lady who painted the
plate. At the front side of the plate, the production year of the
plate was stated underneath the motif.
Now the very demanding underglaze decoration began. This
decoration was carried out by ladies with years of experience in
this very unique skill. The ladies added and removed colour again
and again to achieve a varying layer of colour and thereby
achieving varying strengths of colour, which after the next
burining was reflected in the many blue nuances the artist put into
his motif.
Prior to the second firing the decorated plate must be covered
by a layer of glazing. I addition to water, the glazing includes
materials closely related to the materials used in the production
of the plate, butthe mix of the materials were different.
In the following firing this caused the glaze to melt and then
cover the plate and the decoration, thus forming "a transparent
glass window". This firing lasted app. 24 hours from start to end.
Not only is it important for the temperatur to reach 1320 degrees
Celcius, also the time it takes to reach a range of temperatures on
the way to the 1320 degreesis crucial. Further the chemical
composition of the burning was constantly checked - as will be seen
in the photo above - to ensure that the plates get the tone of
colour which gives them the most beautiful appearance.
After having been burnt, the foot of the plate was rough like
sandpaper. Before the plates were sent to customers all over the
world, the foot was polished in order for them not to make
scratches in other plates.
The end of a long journey through many hands was the final
expert quality check, deciding whether the plate was found worthy
of leaving the factory as a representative of the high quality
standards required by Desiree.
Less than 50 % of the thrown plates end up with this approval.
Read the History of the
Porcelain Manufacture Desiree