The changes made after this time were chiefly of a practical nature. The horizontal furnaces were early replaced by the cylindrical type now generally in use in Europe, and as long ago as 1799 steam power was employed in the preparation of the materials. The chemist, above all, has at all times played an important part at Berlin.
Many strange applications of porcelain, some more curious than really beautiful, were introduced about the beginning of the nineteenth century. A close imitation of lace and _tulle_, made by dipping into a specially prepared slip a real tissue which was afterwards burned away, was a nine days’ wonder when first introduced. (A veiled bust in white biscuit of Queen Louise of Prussia, now at Dresden, is perhaps the most famous example of this ware.) Another application of porcelain was to the ‘transparencies’ or _lithophanie_, in which the design, as seen by transmitted light, was given by variations in the thickness of the paste.
The only mark of interest on the porcelain of Berlin is the sceptre (PL. C. 31), the prized ensign that the electors of Brandenburg bore on their shield as an emblem of their position as Arch-Chamberlains of the Holy Roman Empire.[162] It was this sceptre (very slightly indicated on the earlier examples, and resembling, perhaps intentionally, the Saxon mark) that the Prince de Ligne observing on his plate, when dining with the king, affected to take for a sword, and made the occasion of a ‘two-edged’ compliment.
HÖCHST.--The fayence of Höchst, a town lying between Frankfort and Mainz, had acquired some reputation early in the eighteenth century, and already, by the year 1720, one of the manufacturers, Göltz, had attempted to make porcelain. But not until he had obtained the assistance of a runaway workman or ‘arcanist’ from Vienna, one Ringler (a name which occurs over and over again in similar connections--see note, p. 262), was anything of importance accomplished.[163] The kilns were now rebuilt on the Viennese model, and by the year 1746 porcelain of good quality was produced. The works had already received many privileges from the local prince, in this case the archbishop-elector of Mainz, and about 1778 (or perhaps earlier) the whole establishment was purchased by him. This prince was a patron of art and fond of display, so that during his day the manufacture was conducted on a non-commercial basis. The chief claim to attention of the ware made at Höchst depends upon the little lifelike figures that were modelled by a clever sculptor who worked there from 1768 or 1770 to 1780. The work of this Johann Peter Melchior, who survived till 1825, is preferred by some collectors to anything made at Meissen. He migrated late in life first to Frankenthal, and then to Nymphenburg. The wooden models from which he worked are now much sought after in Germany. It is stated that the kaolin used at Höchst was obtained from Limoges, but this can only apply to a comparatively late period. The works came to an end with the invasion of the French in 1794. The mark, a six-spoked wheel, sometimes surmounted by a crown (Pl. c. 29), is derived from the arms of the arch-episcopal see of Mainz,--indeed the Höchst ware is sometimes known as _porcelaine de Mayence_.