Porcelain was invented in medieval China鈥攂ut its secret recipe was first reproduced in Europe by an alchemist in the employ of the Saxon king Augustus the Strong. Saxony鈥檚 revered Meissen factory could not keep porcelain鈥檚 ingredients secret for long, however, and scores of Holy Roman princes quickly founded their own mercantile manufactories, soon to be rivaled by private entrepreneurs, eager to make not art but profits. As porcelain鈥檚 uses multiplied and its price plummeted, it lost much of its identity as aristocratic ornament, instead taking on a vast number of banal, yet even more culturally significant, roles. By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it became essential to bourgeois dining, and also acquired new functions in insulator tubes, shell casings, and teeth.
Weaving together the experiences of entrepreneurs and artisans, state bureaucrats and female consumers, chemists and peddlers, Porcelain traces the remarkable story of 鈥渨hite gold鈥� from its origins as a princely luxury item to its fate in Germany鈥檚 cataclysmic twentieth century. For three hundred years, porcelain firms have come and gone, but the industry itself, at least until very recently, has endured. After Augustus, porcelain became a quintessentially German commodity, integral to provincial pride, artisanal industrial production, and a familial sense of home.
Telling the story of porcelain鈥檚 transformation from coveted luxury to household necessity and flea market staple, Porcelain offers a fascinating alternative history of art, business, taste, and consumption in Central Europe.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the Ralph Gomory Prize, Business History Conference
- Finalist for the PROSE Award in European History, Association of American Publishers
"[A] sweeping economic, social and cultural history of central Europe. . . . unorthodox and engaging."鈥擬arc Levinson, Wall Street Journal
"A wide-ranging and thorough study. . . . this is a riveting story, well told . . . by Marchand, who illuminates so much in an original and entertaining way."鈥擳im Blanning, Literary Review
"As Suzanne Marchand shows in her meticulous new book, porcelain has been integral to German life since its reinvention in Saxony in 1708."鈥�The Economist
"As an economic-business history, Marchand's work is a landmark achievement. . . . Porcelain is a monumental achievement in scope and breadth in illuminating porcelain's European beginnings and its increasingly fragile position in the markets of the present."鈥擬egan Brandow-Faller, Central European History
"Marchand paints a colourful picture of the day-to-day life of porcelain factories."鈥擟aroline McCaffrey-Howarth, Apollo
"To weave together cultural, economic, and social history so masterfully takes great historiographical experience and skill. All those who are interested in nineteenth-century German intellectual history admire Suzanne Marchand鈥檚 books on the reception of classical antiquity and orientalism. Now she has surprised us with something completely new"鈥擩眉rgen Osterhammel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"Marchand, a specialist in German history, writes with clarity."鈥擭orma Clarke, Times Literary Supplement
"The remarkable achievement of Suzanne Marchand鈥檚 new book, Porcelain, which focuses especially on Germany, is that she moves beyond the celebrated age of discovery in the eighteenth century...to explore modern manufacture and diffusion across a broader consumer society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries .... While Meissen lies at the center of Marchand鈥檚 book, one of its great strengths is the broader survey of German porcelain manufacturing."鈥擫arry Wolff, Journal of Modern History
"N/A"鈥擬onika Poettinger, Austrian History Yearbook
"This is the book on porcelain we have been waiting for. It is a nuanced, scholarly, and passionate account of how porcelain was made, thought of, and consumed in Europe. It is a remarkable achievement."鈥擡dmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber Eyes
"In this fine book, Suzanne Marchand provides a colorful picture of porcelain in the modern period. Enlivened by fascinating characters, beautiful passages, and riveting examples, Porcelain will appeal to all lovers of china as well as those who are interested in design, consumption, and luxury."鈥擣rank Trentmann, author of Empire of Things
"There is magic in the way Suzanne Marchand finds a whole world revealed in a teacup. Through many styles and eras, from baroque rococo to fascist classicism and beyond, porcelain has survived, and this endurance illuminates so many things. Deeply researched and written with verve and grace, Porcelain provides a business, consumer, political, and cultural history all wrapped into one. A pleasure to read."鈥擟elia Applegate, Vanderbilt University
"This book uncovers porcelain鈥檚 multifaceted and exciting history."鈥擯etra Werner, Porzellanikon, State Museum of Porcelain
"Suzanne Marchand鈥檚 stunning new book deftly combines the social and cultural history of 鈥榳hite gold鈥� with a robust, yet stylish, business history. Marchand embeds a rigorously argued interpretation of modern industrial developments and marketing in her vividly told story of a delicate objet d鈥檃rt."鈥擬ary Lindemann, author of The Merchant Republics
"Examining the history of the porcelain industry in Germany and central Europe, Porcelain captures developments in the region鈥檚 economy, politics, and culture. This lively book will appeal to general readers."鈥擯amela Swett, McMaster University
