1760 French Style German Frankenthal Carl Theodor Porcelain Exotic Bird Ornithological Cabinet Plate

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Antique 18th c. Frankenthal porcelain plate from the Mannheim Hofservice, circa 1760. Decorated with exotic birds in the French taste. … Read more Antique 18th c. Frankenthal porcelain plate from the Mannheim Hofservice, circa 1760. Decorated with exotic birds in the French taste. The border with geometric design and alternating panels of neoclassical flowers and fruit. Measures 9 3/4" in diameter. We also have a companion plate of slightly different border design.

Painted with a pair of fantasy birds standing in a naturalistic landscape surrounded by trees and bushes, four gilt-framed floral vignettes alternating with four panels of 'Wittelsbach' chequers under a shaped gilt-edged rim, crowned CT mark in underglaze-blue.

The Frankenthal Porcelain Factory was one of the greatest porcelain manufacturers of Germany and operated in Frankenthal in the Rhineland-Palatinate between 1755 and 1799. The porcelain factory in Frankenthal was established in 1755 by the Hannong family, who had previously manufactured porcelain, known as Strasbourg faience, in Strasbourg until Louis XVI established a state monopoly on porcelain in favour of the Sèvres factory and closed down all others. Karl Hannong transferred his business to an empty barracks in Frankenthal and staffed it with his Strasbourg workforce, under privilege from Elector Carl Theodor of Bavaria, who visited the factory himself in the following year. In 1757 additional craftsmen were hired from Meissen and in 1759 Hannong was able to open a shop in Strasbourg.

In 1760 Karl Hannong died and the business became the property of his two sons Joseph Adam Hannong and Peter Anton Hannong, who fell out over the "arcanum" (the formula of the paste). Their disagreements had a damaging effect on the business and by 1761 they had borrowed so much from the Elector that it was impossible for them to repay it. In 1762 therefore the Elector bought the factory from the Hannongs for 40,804 guilders, plus another 10,00 for the arcanum, and installed his own officials to manage it.

The years from 1762 to 1770 were extraordinarily successful: the products achieved high quality and established the factory's reputation. From 1770 all items were marked with a date mark. From 1774 the paste was made with local china clay, generally mixed with "Passau earth" (Passauer Erde). By 1776 the Frankenthal porcelain factory had shops in Aachen, Basle, Frankfurt am Main, Livorno, Mainz, Munich and Nancy. The Napoleonic Wars brought an end to the business. Frankenthal was occupied by the French, who closed the porcelain factory in 1799. See less