Royal Copenhagen was founded by Frantz Henrich Müller on
May 1st 1775. With his tireless efforts, he
made Denmark's first porcelain factory possible. FM experimented
with the manufacturing of porcelain - and succeded. "Danish
Porcelain Factory" opened with King Christian 7. and queen dowager
Juliane. Beginning 1779 the economy was so bad, that the factory
was taken over by the king and was renamed " The Royal
Porcelain Factory" (RC) - Abroad known as Royal
Copenhagen.
Already when the factory was founded in 1775, it was decided
that the hallmark should be the "Three Wavy
Lines", symbolizing the three Danish straits (The Sound,
The Little Belt and The Great Belt). With little variation this
porcelain trademark has been used ever since.
In 1780 a shop was opened on the first floor of the factory.
Royal Copenhagen, however, did not show any profits until 1795, and
the Royal Family was their biggest client. The Blue
Fluted service was produced right from the start, but
it is the Flora Danica service that made the factory world
famous.
Flora Danica detail - Royal Copenhagen" />The biggest
commission ever was "The
Flora Danica service" which was ordered by King
Christian 7. in 1790. The set was based on the national botanical
works of the same name, publised in 1762. A very closely defined
job, carried out by the German flower painter Johann Christoph
Bauer. When delivered the service included 1802 different parts.
Part of the original set is still exhibited at The Rosenborg
Castle. The original set is still in the possession of the Royal
family, and it is said to be used on special occassions.
From The Royal Academy of Art the professor G. F. Hetsch
was engaged as artistic leader in 1828. Because of him
Royal Copenhagen started producing of the much coveted
bisquit-figurines, giving the factory a badly needed
financial improvement. The prospect paintings too were popular at
the time, and several items with motifs of Amalienborg
Palace, The Round Tower and Rosenborg Castle etc. were
introduced.
In 1833 Frederik Vilhelm Grondahl was engaged as an apprentice
in the trowing workshop in 1833. He was employed at Royal
Copenhagen untill 1852. He then moved on to found Bing &
Grondahl.
Royal Copenhagen participated in their first official exhibition
in London: The Crystal Palace World Exhibition in 1851, the factory
was under the artistic leadership of G. F. Hetsch. The
successfull faience factory Aluminia surprisingly bought
The Royal Porcelain Factory in 1882. Probably this was the
shot in the arm, that ensured the continued existence of Royal
Copenhagen. After the takeover, The Royal Porcelain Factory was
moved to the Aluminia premisses in Smallegade, Frederiksberg.
Administratively the two factories were merged while they in other
respects continued as two separate brands.
The following year the Royal Copenhagen shop opened at
Amager Torv. Arnold Krog was engaged as artistic
leader, and was responsible for the international
breakthrough of Royal Danish porcelain. Towards the end of the 19th
century, the Aluminia factory was "starved" in favour of Royal
Copenhagen - in all respects.
Around the turn of the century (about 1905) the Juliane
Marie Crown was added to the Royal Copenhagen hallmark. At
first only applied to re-productions of articles from the 18th
century, but later applied to all items - the crown now in a "new"
look. The look of the crown has been subject to only a fewchanges
and adjustments throughout the years.
"The Fan"
service was introduced in 1909 - designed by Arnold
Krog. He had already in 1885 been inspired by a fan, but the
service was not produced until 1909. It is also produced in green
and in gold.
Knud Kyhn - sculptor, was engaged by Royal
Copenhagen in 1904. From 1909 he worked together with
Gerhard Henning (GH). Kyhn and Henning have created
several of Royal Copenhagen's big Pan (Faun)
figurines, today absolutely coveted.
The Royal Copenhagen shop moves to The Alderman Court at Amager
Torv 6, where it is still situated today. Patrick Nordström (PN) -
attached to Royal Copenhagen from 1912 to 1922 - presented
stoneware in 1914, on behalf of Royal Copenhagen, as one
of the first in Denmark.
The Royal Porcelain Factory has up through the 20th century
continuously been able to renew and develop - constantly engaging
new artists,and new- or re-development of various production
techniques. In this text we have not spent much time telling the
Royal Copenhagen history from after the 1920'ties, as - in our
opinion - this part of the history is told better elsewhere.
The production of already excisting products and series such as
Blue Fluted, Blue Flower and the Christmas plates etc. is
still continued simultaneous with the development and
production of numerous new products, following or previous to
styles and trends o fthe different periods. During the 1970'ties
Royal Copenhagen experienced a large growth in the sales and
production of various collectibles such as Christmas-
and Mother's Day
plates, Annual
bells, Annual
mugs etc.
The Royal Porcelain Factory bought and merged with several other
manufacturers in the glass-, porcelain- or design-producers in
Scandinavia since the 1980'ties. Georg Jensen, KostaBoda Orrefors,
Holmegaard Glassworks and others have been merged with the old
porcelain factory. Since the merger with Holmegaard Glassworks in
1985, The Royal Porcelain Factory has excisted under the name Royal
Copenhagen.
Royal Copenhagen
Founded by Frantz Henrich Müller on May 1st
1775, a recognized chemist and pharmacist. With his
tireless efforts he made Denmark's first porcelain factory
possible. He was infatuated with the thin and fine porcelain he had
come across when travelling in Europe - Meissen, Germany
mostly.
Frantz Heinrich Müller experimented with the manufacture of
porcelain after returning from his travels - and succeeded.
"Danish Porcelain Factory" opened with King
Christian 7. and queen dowager Juliane Marie as protectors. The
factory was situated in an old mail court in Koebmagergade,
Copenhagen. Already in the beginning, the factory had serious
problems. Raw materials, firing, buildings, internal disagreements
etc. - everything seemed to be problematic in spite of the fierce
efforts of Frantz Müller and his employees. At the beginning of
1779 the economy was so bad, that the factory was taken over by the
king and renamed " The Royal Porcelain Factory" -
Abroad known as Royal Copenhagen.
It was decided from the very beginning in 1775, that
the hallmark should be "Three Wavy Lines",
symbolizing the three Danish straits (The Sound, The Little Belt
and The Great Belt). With little variation all Royal Copenhagen
products have been marked with this logo ever since.
In spite of the initial difficulties, the factory soon
accomplished a high-quality production. Not untill 1780 had the
factory "gathered" enough articles to open up the shop that had
been planned from the beginning. A shop was opened on the first
floor in Koebmagergade. According to the cash books, the shop had
nine customers on the first day of opening. The factory did not
show any profits until 1795. And the Royal Family was always their
biggest client. By 1780 the rococo style is ousted in favour of the
neo classical style with decorations in the contemporary German
style. Naturalistic flowers in fresh colours as well as medallions
in black or gray with typical motifs. Almost all figurines produced
at the factory in those days were copies.
At the same time tableware in the blue and white colours were
manufactured. The Blue Fluted
service was produced right from the start, but it was
the Flora Danica service that made the factory
worldfamous. By late 1700 the factory survived on orders and
commissions from the Royal family and then obility. Especially
tableware and big magnificent vases were popular. Articles that
would today be priced in the million kroner class. Royal
Copenhagen's first golden age ends at the beginning of the 19th
century.
The biggest commission ever was the Flora Danica service.
"The Flora Danica service" was ordered by King
Christian 7. in 1790 - supposedly meant as a gift to Zarina
Katarina 2nd of Russia. Due to the death of the Zarina, the set
remained with the Royal family in Denmark. The set was based on the
national botanical works of the same name, publised from 1762. A
very closely defined job, carried out by the German flowerpainter
Johann Christoph Bauer, who immigrated from Nürnberg. The job
lasted from 1790 to 1802, and almost cost him his sight. When
delivered the service included 1802 parts. Part of the original set
is still exhibited at The Rosenborg Castle. The original set is
still in the possession of the Royal family, and it is said to be
used on special occassions.
Denmark, and thereby Royal Copenhagen, experienced more
recession following the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and the
national bankruptcy of 1813. There was shortage on most things
including raw-materials for the porcelain production. Royal
Copenhagen had to let most employees go in 1810, or put them on
standby payment.
Progress in artistic development and innovation picked up in
1816. From The Royal Academy of Art professor G. F. Hetsch
was hired to be the artistic leader in 1828. He advocated
for "The Pure Style" and had studied the arts and the idiom of the
Antiquity in Rome. Thanks to him Royal Copenhagen started the
production of the much coveted bisquit-figurines,
giving the factory a badly needed financial improvement. Moreover
he was a big propagator of the late empire style. The prospect
paintings were also favorites of those years. The Royal Copenhagen
employees had received education froma French painter specializing
in this art form. Ín the following period several items with motifs
of for example Amalienborg Palace, The Round Tower and Rosenborg
Castle were introduced.
Until 1857 G.F. Hetsch held the post as artistic leader. The
founder of Bing & Grondahl - Frederik Vilhelm Grondahl
was engaged as an apprentice in the throwing workshop in
1833. He stayed with Royal Copenhagen until 1852.
The absolute monarchy in Denmark was abolished in 1849. The old
privileges and monopolies were dissolved, and Royal Copenhagen was
on its own. Royal Copenhagen participated in its first official
exhibition in London: The Crystal Palace World Exhibition in 1851 -
the factory still under the artistic leadership of G. F.
Hetsch.
The first female "bluepainter" was hired at The Royal Porcelain
Factory in 1868. So far this job had exclusively been handled by
men. Quickly this field of work was completely taken over by
women.
New times of recession put Royal Copenhagen under the ministry
of the interior in 1864. By 1868 the factory was privately owned
until the successfull faience factory Aluminia surprisingly
bought the factory in 1882. Probably this was the shot in
the arm, that ensured the the continued excistence of Royal
Copenhagen. After the takeover, The Royal Porcelain Factory moved
to the Aluminia premisses in Smallegade, Frederiksberg.
Administratively the two factories were merged, while they
otherwise continued as two separate factories.
The following year the Royal Copenhagen shop opened at
Amager Torv. Arnold Krog (AK) was engaged as artistic
leader, and he was responsible for the international breakthrough
in Royal Danish porcelain. By the end of the 19th century the
Aluminia factory "starved" in favour of Royal Copenhagen - in all
respects. By 1885 the Royal Copenhagen shop moved to The Alderman
Court at Amager Torv 6, where it is still situated today. When
starting, AK had already decided to "straighten up" the by now
some-what customers across the world compete to acquire the new
underglaze articles. The porcelain factories had enormous success,
and the orders poured in.
During this period the Christmas plate was
"invented", and factories all over the world follow in the steps of
the Danish factories to produce the Christmas plates (and other
plates).
Around the turn of the century (about 1905) the Juliane
Marie Crown is added to the RC hallmark. At first only
applied to re-productions of articles from the 18th century, but
later applied to all items - the crown now in a "new" look. The
look of the crown has had little changes and adjustments throughout
the years.
"The Fan" service was introduced in 1909 -
designed by Arnold Krog. He had already in 1885 been inspired by a
fan, but the service was not produced untill 1909. It is also
produced in green and in gold.
Knud Kyhn (KK) - sculptor, was engaged by RC in
1904, where he stayed for the next 6 years, especially creating big
figurines. He is one of several artists who have worked both at
B&G and Royal Copenhagen. From 1909 he worked with
Gerhard Henning (GH) at Royal Copenhagen. GH was a
swedish-born artist who intoxicated with his opulent figurines
inspired by the French 18th century art. He often created figurines
with small groups of people in an adventure style a' la' the
Orient. Kyhn and Henning created several of Royal Copenhagen's big
Pan (Faun) figurines, today absolutely coveted.
Both artists worked at Royal Copenhagen several times.
Patrick Nordström (PN) - Swedish born ceramic
artist attached to Royal Copenhagen from 1912 to 1922. He presented
stoneware in 1914, on behalf of Royal Copenhagen,
as one of the first in Denmark. Through his innovative experiments
with glazes for stoneware especially, he inspired others. He strove
for perfection in the combination of stoneware and glaze. He
developed several new glazes.
The Royal Porcelain Factory has up through the 20th century
continuously been able to renew and develop - constantly engaging
new artists, and new- or re-developing various production
techniques. In this text we have not spent much time telling the
Royal Copenhagen history later than the 1920'ties, as - in our
opinion - this part of the history is told better elsewhere. The
production of already excisting products and series such as
Blue Fluted, Blue Flower and the Christmas plates etc. is
still continued simultaneously with the development and
production of numerous new products, following or ahead of styles
and trends of the time.
During the 1970'ties Royal Copenhagen experienced a large growth
in the sales and production of various collectibles such as
Christmas- and Mother's Day plates, Annual bells, Annual
mugs etc. The Royal Porcelain Factory bought and merged
with several other manufactures of the glass-, porcelain- or
design-producers in Scandinavia since the 1980'ties. Georg Jensen,
KostaBoda Orrefors, Holmegaard Glass-works and others have merged
with the old porcelain factory. Since the merger with Holmegaard
Glassworks in 1985, The Royal Porcelain Factory has excisted under
the name Royal Copenhagen.
Artists to be mentioned in recent years could be Sven
Vestergaard, Ursula Munch-Petersen, Monica Ritterband and
many more. New products to be emphasized are various series, such
as "Santa Claus", "Christmas in
Denmark" and many others. The latest addition is
"Blue Fluted Mega" - a re-design of the original
Blue Fluted, created by Karin Kjaeldgaard-Larsen.
Little details from the original service are "blown up" in big
size. One major reason for Royal Copenhagen's continuing success is
the decision to prioritize the quality of decoration on figurines
and tableware. Royal Copenhagen has an artistic and qualitative
high standard, and they offer their employees a motivating and
artistic environment.