Meissen Porcelain
In 2002 after 25 years specialising in Meissen, I closed my gallery in Kensington and for the last seven years have been trading successfully from my web site and by appointment from my address in Battersea. Here my stock of Meissen porcelain, sometimes referred to as Meissen china, can be viewed weekdays between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm. I always have an interesting selection of eighteenth and nineteenth century Meissen figures, groups, tableware, clocks, vases and animals. The last few years have not been easy for antique dealers, with the on set of the credit crunch making life even harder. However Meissen porcelain has remained a steady investment during this difficult period, which I attribute to the quality of its manufacture. I consider Meissen to be the ‘Rolls Royce’ of porcelain but then I would wouldn’t I?
Meissen figures
In the last few years there has been an influx of new money from wealthy Russians into the Meissen china market, especially for Meissen figures from the eighteenth century. This interest in Meissen china I can see expanding into other periods such as that of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Russia was always a good patron of the Meissen Manufactory in the days before the Communist regime and going back to the reign of Catherine the Great. It is partly this new Russian money along with established Meissen collectors which will help to maintain the value of Meissen porcelain which has been such a solid investment since I started dealing in Meissen over thirty five years ago.
Meissen Art Nouveau and Art Deco
Over the last ten years I have concentrated more on Meissen from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods which I consider to be undervalued and underappreciated. Towards the end of the nineteenth century a series of new high fired enamel paints were developed at Meissen. These enamels gave a distinctive feel to this period of production at Meissen which lasted into the 1920’s, fusing into the glaze to create the soft flowing effects that are their feature. During this time a number of new modellers came to the fore at the Meissen Manufactory, expert in using this new high fired technique.
Meissen animals
A large number of Meissen animal models were created between 1895 and 1925 using the high fired enamels. Erich Hoesel with his magnificent Meissen group North America, Max Esser with his wonderful series of Meissen animal figures based on the fable of Reynard the Fox and Paul