A vase of egg-shaped form on an octagonal pedestal with handles made of biscuit. Porcelain, polychrome painting, stucco, covered with blue azure matte paint (Royal Blue Fund), trim and painting in gold, gilding. On one side of the body, within a round gilded frame, there is a painted miniature titled "View of Wilhelm Palace and the Monument to Frederick II on Unter den Linden" (the Old Palace, in German Altes Palais, also known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Palace, was the former royal Prussian residence on Unter den Linden Boulevard in Mitte). Above the miniature, there is a crown framed by laurel branches in gilded decoration, and the handles are shaped like semi-nude women intertwined with acanthus scrolls, with flowers rendered in relief, protruding from inside the vase with a gilded rim. The vase was made on the order of the imperial court. Marks: "scepter" - underglaze cobalt, "orb" and the artist's mark in overglaze red. German Empire, Berlin. 1875. Height 63 cm.
Overview of the KPM porcelain market. Assessing the porcelain market is quite a challenging task. Many factors influence pricing: the time of creation, its uniqueness and rarity, the quality of the painting, and, ultimately, its condition. As is known, for market analysis, many collectors rely on the catalogs of Western auction houses. However, auction appraisal is not an absolute indicator of prices, as the auction is a third party. Most items are sold and bought, as a rule, by dealers who are more than willing to invest money in good items. Often, items purchased by a dealer will be resold to collectors at a much higher price, one that you won’t find in any catalog! In recent years, interest in art objects has noticeably increased in Russia. In any country experiencing rapid economic growth, quite affluent individuals emerge who, after making money and satisfying all their primary needs, turn their attention to art objects. Initially, large antique buyers join the ranks of these affluent individuals.Here is the translated text in English:
"Into the mix came Arabs, Japanese, and not long after, Indians, followed by Russians. Europe is currently on another trendy wave—this time, it’s the Chinese wave. The 'new' Chinese are literally buying everything that they think could fit into the interiors of their mini Versalles! In a short period, there has been a significant 'clearing out' of the antique market, with a colossal number of items disappearing. A significant role in this has been played by the numerous tourists who, while traveling through European countries, would buy a cup or a plate to remember their trip, especially since porcelain prices 10-15 years ago were of a completely different order. Now, even in Vienna, it is impossible to buy scenic cups—not to mention those from the Vienna manufactory; even cups 'of the type of Vienna' have disappeared! The same situation exists in France and Germany, let alone Russia. If in the 1990s, the supply on the Russian antique market far exceeded demand, the situation has now changed drastically. To add a good piece to your collection is a rare and very costly stroke of luck. On one hand, considering the volume of production, KPM porcelain is a common presence in the antique market. On the other hand, rare and unique items with high-quality painting are not often found and are highly valued. Just a few years ago, the price of ordinary cups was 300-500 euros. Now, in the European market, the price of an ordinary cup ranges from 1000 to 3000 euros. The price of a highly artistic cup with complex architecture (with masks, sculptural elements, etc.) and excellent painting can vary from 5000 to 15,000 euros. It is worth mentioning the cups dedicated to the Treaty of Tilsit of 1807, decorated with portraits of Alexander I and Napoleon, as well as a series of cups commemorating the battles of Leipzig and Waterloo, decorated with portraits of monarchs from the countries whose troops participated in them. Before the conquest of Prussia by Napoleon I, a small series of paired cups was also released, featuring portraits of Alexander I and his wife, Elizabeth Alexeievna. These items are undoubtedly rare, and their price can start from 25,000 euros."I can say that over the last 15 years, cups from the mentioned series have not appeared at European auctions. The price of Berlin ordinary plates today ranges from €1,000 to €2,000 per piece. The cost of a topographical plate can be anything from €3,000 to €15,000. Plates with narrative painting (from 1790 to 1840) can be valued at €10,000 and up. Meanwhile, fashionable and currently popular "military" plates are being sold at European auctions for prices ranging from €10,000 to €40,000, depending on their condition and date of creation. The price for vases around 30 cm tall is €5,000 to €10,000, while those around 50 cm tall range from €20,000 to €50,000. Vases over 70 cm can cost from €50,000 to €150,000. For example, at a spring auction in Berlin, a 70 cm tall vase was sold for €130,000. It is natural that prices for KPM porcelain will increase over time. As in any business, they in the antique market depend on supply and demand. Since the demand for porcelain is steadily rising (this applies not only to Berlin porcelain, but to porcelain in general), over time there will be fewer items available to satisfy this demand. I do not encourage everyone to invest in art; there are many other fields for capital investment that provide faster and more predictable profits. Speculation is also possible in the antique market. However, the best investor is a serious collector. To invest money in porcelain, one must possess deep knowledge, have a good consultant, and long-term plans. Yet even this does not always guarantee quick success, as market conditions can depend on subjective factors, such as trends, for example. To objectively assess profitability, at least 5 to 10 years must pass. It is quite possible that a KPM plate purchased in 2022 for €5,000 could double or even triple in value over 10 years.
Royal Porcelain Manufactory (KRM)Transfer of the factory to another property -1763After the transition of the Gotzkowsky factory to Frederick II, it became known as the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, and its brand from the very beginning was the royal scepter. At the same time, they began to look for their own deposits of kaolin clay. And already in 1765 such deposits were found in Silesia, and in 1771 they discovered beautiful kaolin clay in Bachwitz near Halle and in Zennewitz and Morla, and the Berlin manufactory uses these deposits to this day. Porcelain made of this clay has a bluish-white hue. At that time, the factory fulfilled numerous orders of the king, among which orders for service sets prevailed. In 1765, Frederick II ordered a service consisting of a large number of heterogeneous objects for the new palace in Potsdam. It took more than two and a half years to make this service. This service became a masterpiece of the factory, it perfectly suited the style of the entire palace, and each of the items had a charming and harmonious painting. Especially the same style of painting was on the plates. Elegant motifs of shells (rocaille) move from the edges to the middle, which is occupied by a bouquet of flowers. The margins of the edges of the plates, between the patterns of shells, are covered with a thin golden mesh on an orange-red background, golden twigs are placed on other fields on a yellow background. The predominant tones are purple-purple, yellow-green and brown-red, as well as fine gilding. In addition to the described "Potsdam" service, the factory has made many others for different royal residences, such as "green", "yellow", "red", "Japanese", "with a basket of flowers". For the gift of the king to the Russian Empress , the factory made in 1772 . a golden-green service with miniatures depicting the victory of the Russians over the Turks.During this period, Polish artist Daniel Chodovetsky also did decoration projects for the factory. In addition to royal orders, the factory produced mass-produced products, not so ornate, but cheaper and more accessible to the layman. In addition to table sets, coffee sets, decorative vases and glazed figurines were produced. However, the vases and statuettes did not have the originality of forms and lightness that the products of some other manufactories of that time had - Meissen, Vienna or Sevres. In 1775, for a short time, the sculpture workshop was led by Johann Epstein. He made a number of figurines and groups of figurines, including Polish-themed ones. They depicted nobles in Polish costumes and horsemen with horses.After the death of King Frederick II, classicism began to prevail in the style of products. When Elias Meyer died (1789), the sculptor Karl Friedrich Riese took his place. The products of this period are biscuits in the classical style, made mainly according to the projects of the famous sculptor Shado- va. The architect Hans Christian Genelli, a supporter of strict classicism, worked with Shadov. During this period, there was a strong influence of Sevres and Wedgwood ceramics.The portraits in medallions that decorated Berlin Empire tableware and cups are mostly the works of the sculptor Leonard Posh. The reaction to cold classicism was the Biedermeier style, which corresponds to the philistine love of convenience and comfort. The products of the Berlin factory in this style were widely marketed. These were mass-produced products, but with a certain specific charm of this era. Biedermeier tableware, made according to the designs of Karl Friedrich Schinkl, should be especially highlighted. In the middle of the XIX century . there was a decrease in the artistic level of products that increasingly resembled mass factory production. After a period of stagnation, the artist Alexander Kipe became the artistic director in 1886. During the twenty years of his work, the factory regained its former position. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, when Schmutz-Baudis became the head of the painting workshop, the technique of underglaze painting underglaze was widely used here, with the help of which interesting and spectacular objects were created. He invited the sculptor Paul Scheurich to Berlin, who often referred to the good Rococo tradition in his works. The current production of the Berlin factory is aimed at the production of decorative tableware and vases, with the main emphasis on simplicity and harmony of form. During the last war, the factory was moved to Zelb for a while, where its branch was located since the XVIII century. In 1955 The manufactory returned to its former place in Berlin (on the territory of the GDR), and it now bears the name "State Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin".In the initial period, the products of the Royal Manufactory in Berlin were marked with the letters "KRM" (Konigliche Porzelcan Manufaktur) with a scepter or a Prussian eagle above the letters - the period of the king's reign. Later, a schematic drawing of a scepter was put as a brand, next to which there are often signs of artists or additional signs. Plates production Brands BrandsBerlin porcelain is Meissen's eternal rival in the struggle for industry leadership. Collectors value both brands highly, but fame has a downside. Manufacturers more often than others become the target of counterfeiters. Fakes flooded the market already in the XIX century, when small workshops painted "linen" rejected by the KRM.To protect themselves from fraudsters, the company makes changes to the trademark from time to time. This greatly simplifies the attribution of KRM porcelain by year. The main brand is applied with cobalt after the first scrap firing. Its presence confirms the high quality of products and their compliance with technical standards. Then the products are glazed and fired again, after which the dye is sintered with a coating. Porcelain of the second grade is marked with a special polished line on the scepter. The upper glaze layer may be absent. The decor items from the biscuit are marked before the scrap firing.What a collector needs to know:1. The famous brand with a scepter appeared in 1763. Before that, letter designations were applied to the products of the Berlin manufactory.2. Porcelain with hand–painted art is additionally marked with the second symbol of imperial power - the power. It is applied with enamel over the glaze layer. The color of the power depends on the subject of the painting:floral motifs and landscapes in the veduta technique are marked in red;green – layering with precious metals or monochrome patterns;blue – decor with high-temperature paints that is not "afraid" of the dishwasher.3. Each artist of the company puts a logo on their products. Usually the signature is applied manually with paint or pressed into the dough. Next to the logo, you can see additional numbers indicating the number of the decor in the unified register of the KRM. The individual logo is missing only on miniature animal figures and chef's spoons.
