A Marvellous Science

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Early eighteenth-century Europe was possessed by an ardent enthusiasm for the new material of true, hard-paste porcelain. With its whiteness, lustre and unparalleled refinement, it was the very epitome of the period's spirit and lifestyle. The driving forces behind the rise of European porcelain were scientific research, delight in collecting works of art and fine craftsmanship, and the goal of economic prosperity. Spurred on by the hitherto unfamiliar colour combinations, patterns and forms of East Asian porcelain, alchemists, physicians and apothecaries avidly sought the formula for the material's composition.
In 1718, in a secret laboratory close to the Liechtenstein Garden Palace and with the protection of an imperial charter, the entrepreneur Claudius Innocentius du Paquier founded the Vienna porcelain manufactory - the second of its kind in all Europe. As well as reflecting contemporary trends in art and science, the bold and distinctive porcelain of the Du Paquier era is an image of courtly life, in its everyday routines and in its zest for festivity and celebration.