18th Century Meissen Hand-Painted Figural Porcelain Charger. On two opposite sides are images of hand-painted flowers and leaves with a blue background, and the other two opposing sides show figural pastoral scenes. Each of these is bordered by swilring gilt patterns, which join at the middle in a circle around a smaller image of flowers. Likely from the 1780s, the Meissen mark of two crossed swords is on the back. 

Size: 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. 

Meissen porcelain was the first European hard-paste porcelain, developed in 1708 through experiments by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and Johann Friedrich Böttger. Financed by Augustus the Strong, the royal factory at Meissen, near Dresden, officially began production in 1710 at Albrechtsburg castle to protect the "arcanum," or secret recipe of the porcelain. To distinguish its high-quality wares from imitations, the company introduced its iconic crossed swords logo in 1720, which remains one of the world's oldest continuously used trademarks. Under the artistic direction of Johann Gregor Herold, Meissen became world-famous for its brilliant overglaze enamel colors and transition from Asian-inspired motifs to European decorative styles. The factory also pioneered the creation of detailed porcelain figurines and remained the dominant stylistic leader in Europe until the rise of the French Sèvres factory in the 1760s. Today, the company operates as the Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH and continues to be recognized as a premier German luxury brand.

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