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Munich, the Porcelain City - Porcelain Treasures

Munich, the Porcelain City - Porcelain Treasures

In addition to the world-famous Nymphenburg Porcelain Factory, which celebrated its 250-years jubilee in 1997, Munich also houses other high-class collections of the "white gold".
The porcelain collections in the Residence Museum, in the Marstallmuseum of Nymphenburg Palace, in the Lustheim Palace and in the Bavarian National Museum include fascinating products of the European and Asiatic porcelain art.

Porcelain Collections

The Residence Museum

Both European porcelain from the 18th and 19th centuries and oriental porcelain is on exhibition in the state rooms of the Wittelsbachs' principal palace. The provenance of the products of the 18th century, such as figures, dinner services and vases, is Meissen (near Dresden), Frankenthal, Vienna, Sèvres and Paris. The porcelain of the 19th century – dinner services and porcelain pictures – were made in the magnificent factories of Nymphenburg, Berlin and Paris.
The exhibitions of the important East Asiatic porcelain collections, such as, for example, bowls, vases, bottles etc – go back to the 16th century.

Opening hours of the Residence Museum
Entrance Max-Josef-Platz 3
Tel: 089 / 29 06 71
April 1st – October 15th daily 9am – 6 pm
October 16h – March 31st daily 10am – 4 pm
Mornings: East Asiatic porcelain, European porcelain from the 19th century
Afternoons: European porcelain from the 18th century

Nymphenburg Porcelain – Collection Bäuml in the Marstallmuseum

The extensive Bäuml Collection of the Nymphenburg Porcelain on the first floor of the Marstallmuseum (former court riding school and stables) documents the production of Nymphenburg porcelain from its founding in the 18th century up to the 1920s.

Porcelain Collection Bäuml
First floor of the Marstallmuseum of the Nymphenburg Castle
Tel: 089 / 179 08 – 0
Opening hours:
April 1st – October 15th daily 9am – 6pm
October 16th – March 31st daily 10am – 4pm

Lustheim Palace

The small Lustheim Palace, situated in the park of Schleissheim Palace, north of Munich, houses the magnificent Meissen Porcelain Collection of the Professor Schneider Foundation. (Meissen procelain is often referred to as Dresden porcelain in English-speaking countries.)
The collection contains the most precious Meissen dinner services, animal figures and table centre-pieces, from Böttger's first experiments up to the Seven Years' War. The paintings on porcelain by Johann Gregorius Höroldt and animal figures by Johann Joachim Kändler are famous.

Meissner Porcelain – Collection Ernst Schneider Foundation (Lustheim Palace)
Situated in the park of Schleissheim Palace
Tel: 089 / 315 87 20
Opening hours:
April 1st – September 30th daily 9am – 6pm, Monday closed
October 1st – March 31st daily 10am – 4pm, Monday closed

The Bavarian National Museum

In 2000 the collection on display at the Bavarian National Museum was enlarged by four newly arranged rooms in which south German faience and porcelain are exhibited, the emphasis being placed on Nymphenburg Porcelain. A whole room is devoted to Franz Anton Bustelli, the outstanding rococo modeller of porcelain sculpture. His famous works, the sixteen figures of the Commedia dell' arte, can now be shown in their entirety.
Another highlight is the reconstruction of a pleasure garden which decorated the dessert table at the wedding of the Bavarian Princess Maria Anna in 1755.

Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Tel 089-2112401
Opening hours:
Tuesdays –Sundays, from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm
until 8.00 pm on Thursdays
Monday closed

A brief account of the history of porcelain

The manufacture of porcelain in China was developed in the 10th century. In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) it had already reached a stage of technical perfection when its export to Europe began. In Europe the secret of manufacturing porcelain was not known until the 18th century.
The secret of its production was discovered by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus at the beginning of October 1708 a second time and developed further after its death by Johann Friedrich Böttger. On 28 March 1709 Boettger reported the invention of the European porcelain.
From then on, the secret of manufacturing porcelain, the so-called "arcanum", was divulged and spread, resulting in factories being set up throughout Europe.

A short history of the Nymphenburg Porcelain Factory

Maximilian III Joseph, the last prince-elector of the old Bavarian line of the House of Wittelsbach, established the first Bavarian Porcelain Factory in 1747. It was then housed in Neudeck Castle in the Munich suburb of Au and in 1761 was moved to a building specially built for the purpose in the northern section of the crescent in front of Nymphenburg Palace. Ever since that time porcelain of a high quality has been continuously produced there entirely by hand.
The manufacture of porcelain reached its peak under Count von Haimhausen. In 1753 he managed to obtain the services of Joseph Jakob Ringler and in 1754 of the brilliant Franz Anton Bustelli to assist him in his work. Ringler knew the secret of manufacturing porcelain and, above all, understood how to use the kilns. Bustelli, who is today regarded as the major rococo procelain artist, created some 150 different models in less than nine years, for example the love groups, market figures, portrayals of foreign peoples, putti as Ovidian gods and the world-famous figures of the Commedia dell'arte.
Nymphenburg porcelain is still today formed, turned and painted by hand as it was in the 18th century. The special colours are produced in the factory itself according to old recipes. The technique of manufacturing porcelain at Nymphenburg calls for a very great measure of craftsmanship and artistic skills, which is entirely rooted in tradition. As in former times, the potter's wheels are still driven by water power. The energy-generating and transmission plants are today regarded as engineering monuments, which nevertheless are up-to-date and function extremely well. The historical three-storey round kiln is still in working order.
The factory is owned by the Bavarian State and is today run by the family foundation, the Wittelsbach Equalisation Fund (Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfond). It is housed in the northern section of the crescent in front of the palace and is usually not available to the public. All the same the manufacture offers every Wednesday at 10 a.m. a guided tour through the studio at a price of € 25. Call 179197-0, an early reservation is recommended as the number of participants is strictly limited.

Munich PORTAL