Porzellansammlung: Redesign of the Böttger Room

Blick in den neugestalteten Böttgersaal der Porzellansammlung im Zwinger

Redesign of the Böttger Room

The light-flooded pavilion on the level of the Zwinger corridor, dedicated to the famous porcelain inventor Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682—1719), can be considered the heart of the Dresden Porzellansammlung (Porcelain Collection). It is dedicated to the earliest products of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, which were a real sensation more than 300 years ago. Saxony had succeeded in doing what had been attempted in vain throughout Europe for 250 years: to reveal the secret behind the recipe for Chinese red porcelain stoneware and — above all — East Asian porcelain.

Exhibition Site Zwinger

Opening Hours daily 10—18, Monday closed 24/12/2024 10—14 (Christmas Eve) 31/12/2024 10—16 (New Year's Eve) 01/01/2025 12—18 (New Year) 20/11/2024 10—18 (Buß- und Bettag)

Admission Fees normal 6 €, reduced 4,50 €, under 17 free, groups (10 persons and more) 5,50 €

When Augustus the Strong held the first gleaming white vases and dishes with the finest flower arrangements and relief decorations in his hands, he knew that he now possessed a unique trump card that was the envy of all other princes. Porcelain was therefore to shine particularly brightly at the Dresden court. Now the world's most beautiful and important collection of early works by the Meissen manufactory is shining in a new light in a contemporary museum presentation. The accent lighting in the showcases now allows the finest details of the cut, faceted, relief-decorated, silver-framed or black-glazed surfaces to be observed.

In the early days of the Meissen manufactory, in which considerable technological hurdles had to be overcome, the Far Eastern originals in the royal collection remained the most important yardstick, constant stimulus and inexhaustible source of inspiration. The first showcase is therefore dedicated to the East Asian model. However, Böttger recognized the special potential of his inventions in being able to shape the materials previously imported from the other side of the world according to European maxims. The oscillation between East and West and the ingenuity in the design of the earliest Meissen products can be vividly traced.

**Chinese bed with figure and Meissen imitation**

In targeted juxtapositions, the new presentation encourages comparative viewing - when, for example, a parade of six similar jugs demonstrates the variety of finishing forms of Böttger stoneware. A series of large vases that sank or burst open in the fire still show the forces they were exposed to in the fire, which were difficult to control. Despite their deformations and cracks, they entered the royal collection - as technological masterpieces and small marvels.

Animated films by the Leipzig artist Jens Rosemann tell an entertaining story of the legendary reinvention of porcelain in Saxony and the enormous hurdles that the Meissen manufactory had to overcome in the beginning (tip: turn on the sound when watching the films!)

The Böttger Hall conveys an idea of the visionary spirit of adventure, self-sacrificing daring and sheer inexhaustible ingenuity that led to the groundbreaking Saxon inventions that soon became the talk of Europe.