Every single piece in our mould archive tells its own story and is part of our cultural heritage.
One of the oldest mother moulds in our archive tells a very impressive story. The moulds for the Apostle Petrus from 1738. This figurine was created by Johann Joachim Kaendler, the impressive model master and sculptor of our manufactory, along with 11 other apostles at the request of the Saxon Elector Friedrich August II. They were to be a gift to the Elector's mother-in-law, who was to admire the original larger-than-life marble sculptures that stood in the Roman Lateran Basilica as porcelain figurines in her chambers. Kaendler himself did not go to Rome to do this, but worked from drawings that are now lost, which explains the slight deviations from the originals. But Kaendler, as a master of his craft on a par with the great stone sculptors of the Baroque, reinterpreted these majestic figurines with their richly folded robes in his own language in a small format and stamped them with his unique handwriting.
The more than 2,200 individual pieces of the magnificent "Swan Service" report an enormous breakthrough in 18th century table and dining culture. It was commissioned from Kaendler by the Prime Minister of Electoral Saxony, Count Heinrich von Brühl, who was the director of our manufactory in 1735. Together with Johann Friedrich Eberlein, they spent five years creating the "Swan Service" with an unprecedented opulent relief – the famous pair of swans swimming through the reeds. Thus, each model of this extensive service is distinguished by a unique sculptural design that revolutionized Baroque table culture.
This wonderful place is full of surprises, myths and stories that will be preserved for eternity and safeguard the rich cultural heritage for the future.