The porcelain-works were, however, not neglected, and the patronage of the court, and the fashion the courtiers made, secured a good success; so that, in 1785, more than five hundred workmen were employed.
Not only were the products largely used in Austria, but there came a great demand from Turkey. The first work was, of course, a following of Dresden. The best painters possible were engaged, and animals, landscapes, and figures, were applied.
[Illustration: FIG. 131.--_Vienna and Herend Porcelain._]
About 1796 a painter named Lamprecht painted excellent animals, and his pieces bear his name; they are rare. Some of the other painters were Perger, Furstler, Wech, and Varsanni. Nigg was a painter of rare flower-pieces.
The Turkish demand caused the production at Vienna, and also in Hungary, of what may be called Oriental or Asiatic styles of decorations. Figures, of course, gave way to arabesques--for no true Moslem copies the human figure--and more and richer colors were used.
The best work was made during the latter part of the last century, when a style of decoration of burnished gold in relief upon dead gold was used, which is now much prized. The work went on, with varying success and at great cost, till 1856, when it was given up.
Some of the pieces at the Bernal sale were as follows:
A plate with green border and white stars, with flowers £2 2_s._ $10 50
One with brown and gold border, with flowers 1 1_s._ 5 00
A plate with lilac border, and friezes, from gems in Indian-ink 37 16_s._ 189 00
A cup and saucer, beautifully painted, with Venus and Cupid, after Sir Joshua Reynolds 8 15_s._ 44 00
The teapot and cup and saucer in Fig. 131 are Vienna work, and are excellent examples both of paste and coloring.
The three lower pieces in Fig. 131 are _Hungarian_; the bowl and sugar-bowl are highly colored, and are very Oriental in both color and decoration. The plate with fish is a direct imitation of the Chinese.
[Illustration: _This shield varies in shape and size. It has been in use since 1744._]
HUNGARY.--Toward the end of the last century a porcelain-factory was at work in Herend, at which porcelain of an Oriental character and much richness was made. This was doubtless intended for the Turkish and Asiatic markets. A piece bought in Ispahan, as Oriental, is now pronounced to be Herend, and was purchased by the South Kensington Museum in 1863.