Dresden
porcelain refers more to an artistic movement than a particular
porcelain company. In fact, several competing studios emerged under
the Dresden umbrella, in the saxony capital in response to the rise
of romanticism during the 19th century.
Dresden was an important centre for the artistic,
cultural and intellectual movement, and it attracted painters, sculptors,
poets, philosophers and porcelain decorators alike. It was not the
porcelain factories but the painting studios that were responsible
for Dresden Porcelain being so well known all over the world. 
There were at least forty porcelain painting studios
located near or in the city of Dresden, all decorating porcelain
in the Meissen style and a large percentage
of the porcelain was produced by the Meissen factory. Most of it
being seconds, sold in the white, that didn't pass the Meissen factory
quality control.
In 1883, in response
to the exciting developments happening all around them, four prominent
ceramic decorators registered the famous Dresden blue crown mark,
and the widely popular dresden style was born.
The four companies comprised:
Karl Richard Klemm, located in Striesen
and founded in 1869. The Klemm Dresden crown was registrered in
the RWZR under number 24.
Donath & Co, located in the Wachsbleichstrasse
25 and founded in 1872. The Donath Dresden crown was registered
in the RWZR under number 25.
Oswald Lorenz, located in Dresden
as a commission agent. The Lorenz Dresden crown was registered in
the RWZR under number 26.
Adolf Hamman, located in the Serrestrasse
8 and founded in 1866. The Hamman Dresden crown was registered in
the RWZR under number 27
All the above studios were decorating porcelain in the meissen
or vienna style; and marking
thier pieces with the sam dresden crown mark. The dresden collector
will find it quite impossible to identify the exact origin of wares
produced at this time.
After a few years though, each of these studios did register their
own specific marks at the RWZR and it became easier to identify
indivual studios.
Some
confusion still exists about the relationship between the names
Dresden and Meissen
This
misunderstanding also dates to the early years.
The
secret of European hard paste porcelain, was discovered under the
commission of Augustus the Strong in the city of Dresden.
In 1710,
however, the first porcelain producing factory was set up fifteen
miles away in the city of Meissen. But most Meissen porcelain was
sold in Dresden, which was the cultural and economic centre of Saxony.
This
resulted in Meissen figurines and porcelain being referred to as
Dresden porcelain even though they were marked with the blue crossed
swords mark.
Today
the ceramics collector is aware that although the work of Dresden
decorators often rivaled Meissen products; no actual porcelain was
produced in Dresden.
 Dresden
porcelain is often described as rococo revival style.
Rococo
comes from the French word rocaille meaning rock work or grotto
work, and refers to artificial grottoes used in French gardens and
decorated with irregularly shaped stones and seashells.
Popular
during the renaissance, rococo experienced a revival during the
19th century, and influenced almost every aspect of interior design.
Dresden
decorators were the first and most successful to employ the style
on dinnerware decorated with elaborate and fanciful designs using
a profusion of foliage, flowers, fruits, shells and scrolls.
Between 1855 and 1944,
Dresden housed over 200 painting shops; but the dresden style is
always associated with wares bearing the blue crown mark first registered
by Richard Klemm, Donath & Co., Oswald Lorenz, and Adolph Hamann
in 1883 and the type of wares they produced.
The
style they employed used a mixture of Meissen and Vienna flower
and figure painting.
Later,
other decorators employed the Crown and Dresden mark, and names
like Franziska Hirsch, Ambrosius Lamm, Carl Thieme and Helena Wolfsohn
became associated with dresden porcelain.
Crown Dresden is porcelain
produced by outside decorator Helena Wolfsohn, in Dresden in the
1870s.
Wolfsohn originally used the Meissen royal factory mark on her
products, in particular a variation of the Meissen
AR (Augustus Rex) mark. 
Following a lawsuit brought by the Meissen company, she was forced
to drop the AR mark and adopted a crown with 'D' scripted beneath.
Her work was typically decorated with pastoral scenes, inspired
by the French artist Antoine Watteau and interspersed with panels
of flowers.
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Dresden
Porcelain
