300 years of porcelain 1718–2018
White gold from Vienna. The Viennese porcelain factory was founded in Vienna-Alsergrund in 1718. The Austrian Post commemorates the 300th anniversary of Viennese porcelain with a special stamp on October 24, 2018.
White gold from Vienna
Valuable porcelain objects, usually imported from China via adventurous routes, were already considered absolute cult objects in the 16th century. When the so-called “Arcanists” finally discovered the secret of producing “white gold” in the 18th century, the European elite was completely gripped by “porcelain fever.” Emperors, kings, princes, and the emerging middle class alike began having their own factories built. One of the first to open its doors was the Vienna Porcelain Factory, under the leadership of Claudius Innocentius du Paquier, an agent of the Imperial War Council. On May 27, 1718, Emperor Charles VI signed a special privilege granting the factory a monopoly throughout the entire empire. In 1721, the porcelain factory moved to the street that is still named after the factory to this day: Porzellangasse (Porcelain Avenue) in the 9th district of Vienna. After the privilege expired, Empress Maria Theresa added the factory to the Imperial Treasury in 1744. Since then, every piece leaving the factory bears the cobalt blue shield beneath the glaze – the trademark of Viennese porcelain.
Porcelain art
In 1864, the Vienna Porcelain Factory was forced to close its doors. In 1923, investors from the circle of the great designer and founder of the Wiener Werkstätte, Josef Hoffmann, recognized the rich heritage and opened the “New Vienna Porcelain Factory Augarten” in the Baroque park of the same name. Since then, the Augarten Porcelain Factory has continued the tradition of craftsmanship and embraced the tradition of artistic innovation. To this day, fine porcelain is manufactured here based on designs from all eras – from Dubsky decorations on Baroque forms to tea sets and figurines by the most important Art Deco designers, and to contemporary interior and product design.
The special stamp has a face value of €4,20. The design features a teacup in a classical Baroque style, finished with varnish in the print.
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