The History of Porcelain in Belgium, Holland and Switzerland
Belgium made a good progress in the eighteenth century copying both the Sevres and Meissen styles but their original works was mostly done in the tablewares and figures. Tourney was one of the important places in Belgium, Amsterdam and The Hague in Holland and Zurich and Nyon near Geneva in Switzerland.
Tournay
Good soft-paste porcelain was made here from about 1751; at first it was greyish in appearance, but later it became a good creamy white. Both the Sevres and Meissen styles were copied, but much original work was done in both tablewares and figures. A quantity of tableware with painting in under glaze blue is similar in appearance to Worcester, and some of the groups are akin to those of Chelsea. This is not surprising in view of the fact that some ex-Tournay craftsmen actually worked at Chelsea for a time, but it does not excuse the occasional modern practice of adding anchors and triangles to genuine Tournay groups! Painting was often of excellent quality, and a series of plates painted with animals within dark blue and gilt borders compare well with Sevres. Some Tournay porcelain was sold to the Hague factory and decorated there.
During the nineteenth century much forging of eighteenth-century English and French soft-paste porcelains was carried on at Tournay, and they also reissued some of their own models of earlier date.
Genuine marks in colors or gold are a roughly drawn tower, or a version of the Dresden crossed swords but with a small cross at each opening.
Holland Weesp, near Amsterdam
A hard-paste manufactory was started in 1759, some of the workers were Germans thrown out of employment by the Seven Years War so German styles predominated as regards models and painting. The mark, also, was a version of the Dresden crossed swords but with three dots placed about them. In 1771 the factory was bought by Johannes de Mol and removed to Oude Loos-drecht; a similar paste was used, and the mark was changed to the letters ‘M.O.L.’ incised or painted in colour. A further move followed in 1784 to Amstel and the mark then became the name of that place in black or blue. Popular products of these factories were sets of vases elaborately pierced and sparsely decorated, but with the little painting on them of good quality.
The Hague
A decorating establishment bought unpainted wares from various factories and decorated them, adding a mark in blue of a stork with a fish in its beak. Porcelain was made on the premises from about 1776 until 1790 and has the same mark.
Switzerland
Zurich
A factory was opened in 1763 and started by making a creamy white soft-paste, which is now very rare. Two years later, hard-paste was made and this was decorated very carefully in distinctive styles that make the ware some of the most beautiful of its period. Figures are rare, expensive, and many are very attractively modeled and colored. Little or no porcelain was made after about 1791. The mark is the letter ‘z’ in under glaze blue, sometimes with one or more dots below.
Nyon, near Geneva
This factory, starting in 1780, made a good hard-paste. Tablewares were the principal productions, and the few figures are very rare. The mark is a fish in outline, but it should be noted that a mark resembling this was used elsewhere.
These countries porcelain designs and styles were mostly from the Germans, and England craftsmen who were either removed or had to flee away from their countries due to some political or financial instabilities. They used both hard and soft paste to make the porcelain wares.
About the Author
Mitch Johnson is a regular writer for www.kids-games-n-crafts.com/ , www.solidcoins.info/ , www.bathroomaccessoriesmadeeasy.info/
