The themes

At Porzellanikon Hohenberg a. d. Eger, the German Porcelain Museum has outstanding pieces on show from the House of Medici, together with early French porcelain and Böttger stoneware from Meissen – pieces that were made before the success story of hard porcelain first really began. The crowned heads of Europe are also represented, with items made especially for Augustus the Strong, for the court of Napoleon Bonaparte and for the last Russian czar. Yet even when porcelain found its way into upper middle-class households, it still remained grand, ostentatious and breathtakingly artistic. The first part of the anniversary exhibition is rounded off in impressive style by porcelain from Art Nouveau through to variety show figures from the Roaring Twenties.

In Porzellanikon Selb, the porcelain exhibition staged in the European Industrial Museum for Porcelain brings us into the modern world of mass society, with beautifully designed porcelain now becoming accessible to everyone. You will find porcelain on show here made by design icons such as Wilhelm Wagenfeld and Walter Gropius, together with lifestyle products by famous names such as Versace. Examples of work featuring porcelain as an architectural element are also on display – typically, in modern wellness and bathroom applications. Sculptures by famous artists such as Jeff Koons show porcelain as a material used in avant-garde art. Europe’s universities and academies show us the tasks porcelain might adopt in the years to come. Interviews held with a broad selection of people from all over Europe and a filmography reflect our thoughts on the future of porcelain and show just what it means to us.