Vintage German Wettin Porcelain Vase with Painted Portrait. Green paint throughout with white and gold borders, ornate curving handles on top with a bulbed top on the neck, and the portrait of a woman in a Roman robe in the middle of one side surrounded by elaborate gold patterns. Marked "Royal Wettin Germany" on base. 

Size: 5 x 5 x 6 in. 

#8469 . 

For 800 years the Wettin Dynasty ruled Saxony from a seat of power in Dresden, still one of the most visited cities in Germany. One of their most important leaders was known as Augustus II the Strong (1670-1733), so called for his impressive physical prowess and his desire to strengthen the economic, cultural, and living standards of his people. He ordered the founding of a porcelain workshop in the town of Meissen, where after nearly a decade of experiments by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus the first European hard-paste porcelain was created in 1710. It attracted artisans and artists from around Europe, and although it was eventually eclipsed by other manufacturing communities around the continent it remains one of the most famous in the world for its groundbreaking designs and techniques. Eventually there were several factories in the area competing to make the finest works, but in 1918 the House of Wettin lost control of Saxony and the area fell into decline. During the tumultuous 20th Century most of the factories were destroyed or faced economic collapse, until only the Meissen factory was still functioning, bringing in critical income during the difficult times under the Soviet Union. In 1975 the Higher Munich State Court decided to favor the newly named Saxon Porcelain Manufactory as the sole user of the term “Dresden Porcelain,” but in 1990 the German Reunification led to the company being restored to the State of Saxony and it has continued to produce high quality goods ever since.