By Georg Tillmann — When around 1710 the Saxon Court alchemist, Johann Friedrich Boettger, instead of finding gold, discovered the method of making porcelain, he succeeded in his task in a way unforeseen by himself and by his princely employer. For in the third and fourth decade of its existence, the young porcelain factory turned into the always empty chest of the Prince Elector of Saxony an amount of nearly 1,500,000 gold thalers — indeed, a most respectable sum for the standards of those...

Bowes Curator Howard Coutts on Meissen, Staffordshire, and Sèvres

By Maribeth Keane — I’m the curator of the ceramics bit of the Bowes Museum. It’s a big museum with 30 galleries of which three or four are devoted to ceramics alone. Within Britain, it’s got one of the biggest and most expensive groups for people to see. We have about 5,000 or so pieces in the collection. We’re not sure exactly. It’s all registered, but of course we get tea sets registered under one number, so I think in total it’s about 5,000. I’ve collected both cups and saucers over the years, which...