Annual Report 2010 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

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“Dancing Porcelain” during the
opening ceremony in Dresden
View of the exhibition “The Fascination of Fragility”,
Ephraim-Palais, Berlin
The concept behind the exhibition was then explained by
the Director of the Porzellansammlung, Dr. Ulrich Pietsch.
The official part of the evening ended with a performance
of a “porcelain ballet”, in which the figures depicted in
Meissen porcelain were brought to life on the stage.
the Fascination of Fragility
The story of the enchanting appeal of European porcelain,
which was so elegantly expressed in dance form, began in
Meissen, but its reputation and the secret of how to produce
this precious material soon extended beyond the
borders of Saxony during the 18th century. Porcelain
manufacturers were rapidly established all over Europe.
Nevertheless, until the middle of the 18th century Meissen
dominated the form and decor of porcelain, and its designs
were much imitated. Serious competition only came
into being after the rise of manufactories like those of
Sèvres and Berlin.
It is not difficult to imagine the wide range of historical
and artistic interrelationships that determined the world
of European porcelain manufacturers at that time. Even
today, their works bear impressive testimony to that. In
order to trace these interrelationships and underline the
European dimension of the phenomenon of porcelain art,
the Porzellansammlung of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
Dresden organised a second exhibition, parallel to
that in Dresden, to be held in Berlin under the title “Zauber
der Zerbrechlichkeit – Meisterwerke europäischer Porzellankunst”
(The Fascination of Fragility ­ Masterpieces of
European Porcelain Art). This exhibition in the Ephraim­
The opening ceremony in Berlin: state secretary in
the Federal Ministry of Finance Werner Gatzer,
Dr. Ulrich Pietsch and Dr. Franziska Nentwig, Director-
General of the stiftung stadtmuseum Berlin
Palais, organised in association with the Stiftung Stadtmuseum
Berlin, demonstrated the development of European
porcelain culture over the course of the 18th century,
showing the patterns it followed and how innovations
gave new directions to its design repertoire.
Around 500 porcelain objects were assembled in Berlin for
this unique display. A fifth of them were from the Dresden
Porzellansammlung, with the remaining items being on
loan from Berlin, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Sèvres and
elsewhere. They were produced in around 50 European
manufactories. In the exhibition concept drawn up by
Curator Dr. Theresa Witting the specific features of the
different production sites were presented, as well as common
elements within a shared tradition. The dominance
of Meissen in terms of design was clearly in evidence, as
was also the reciprocal influence of European competitors
on Saxon production.
porcelain and diplomacy
Viewing the phenomenon of porcelain from this perspective
demonstrated one thing, in particular: that “white
gold” has not only an artistic and an economic dimension,
but also a political one, having always been closely associated
with international relations. It is therefore not surprising
that the opening of the exhibition on 9 May, 2010
in Berlin’s Nikolaikirche was attended by diplomats from
all the countries from which objects had been loaned for
the exhibition.
The speakers therefore included correspondingly highranking
representatives of the diplomatic corps. The wel­