KPM Porcelain

Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur
THe Royal Porcelain Factory

(1763-present)

Founded in 1763 by Frederick II of Prussia, KPM Berlin, officially known as the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, stands as one of the most enduring and celebrated European porcelain manufacturers. Synonymous with royal patronage, technical innovation and painterly excellence, KPM Berlin porcelain has long held a central place in both Prussian and international decorative arts history.

KPM’s origins trace back to two earlier Berlin-based porcelain ventures: Wilhelm Caspar Wegely’s factory of 1751 and the follow-up attempt by Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky in 1761. Despite early promise, both efforts faltered due to financial pressures and the ongoing impact of the Seven Years’ War. It was Gotzkowsky who, having acquired the vital porcelain-making arcanum and key personnel including modeller Ernst Heinrich Reichard, laid the groundwork for the factory’s royal future. In 1763, Frederick II acquired the business outright, renaming it the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur) and introducing the cobalt blue sceptre as its official mark.

Close up of the KPM sceptre mark on a PORCELAIN PLAQUE available in our CERAMICS COLLECTION

at Jacksons Antique

Under Frederick’s ownership, KPM was transformed into both a model employer and a manufacturer of luxury porcelain. The king commissioned no fewer than 21 extensive dinner services for his residences, many designed to complement the architecture and interior decoration of his palaces. One of the earliest and most influential was the Reliefzierat service of 1765, richly modelled in Rococo style by chief modeller Friedrich Elias Meyer. Other key services followed, including Neuzierat, Neuglatt, Neuosier, and KURLAND, the latter commissioned by Duke Peter von Biron and still produced to this day.

KPM rapidly became a hallmark of royal and aristocratic taste across Europe. The factory’s overglaze painting and meticulous hand decoration made it a preferred source for diplomatic gifts and palace furnishings, with pieces often featuring figural scenes, courtly landscapes, or detailed floral motifs. In 1784, the manufactory developed a signature hue known as Bleu mourant (“dying blue”), which became synonymous with Frederick’s porcelain commissions for Sanssouci.

KPM LA GONDOLE D’AMOUR PORCELAIN PLAQUE available in our EUROPEAN CERAMICS COLLECTION

at Jacksons Antique

Into the 19th century, KPM remained at the forefront of innovation. The growing bourgeois market created demand for highly decorated cabinet cups and collector wares, while veduta painting, particularly the work of Carl Daniel Freydanck, reinforced KPM’s status as a leader in pictorial porcelain. During this period, the factory collaborated with prominent artists including Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Johann Gottfried Schadow, whose Prinzessinnengruppe (Two Princesses) became an iconic KPM creation.

In 1878, the founding of the Chemical-Technical Research Institute under Hermann Seger initiated a wave of experimentation. Seger’s research into glazes and underglaze pigments helped introduce oxblood, celadon, and crystal glazes inspired by Chinese ceramics. His work laid the foundation for KPM’s contribution to the Art Nouveau movement. The Wedding Procession by sculptor Adolf Amberg, designed in 1908 and later produced in porcelain, marked a turning point in the factory’s embrace of modernist design.

KPM Porcelain Plaque Mother and Child Previously Sold from our CERAMICS COLLECTION at Jacksons Antique

Following the fall of the Prussian monarchy in 1918, KPM transitioned into the State Porcelain Manufactory Berlin, retaining both its sceptre mark and artistic legacy. Influenced by the Bauhaus and Deutscher Werkbund, the factory’s designers including Trude Petri and Marguerite Friedlaender pushed forward into functional modernist aesthetics. Petri’s Urbino dinner service and Friedlaender’s Halle vases remain landmarks of early 20th-century porcelain design.

The impact of the Second World War was severe. Many of KPM’s artists were forced into exile or removed from their posts under the Nazi regime. The Berlin factory suffered heavy bombing damage in 1943, prompting a temporary move to Franconia. Production resumed in Berlin in 1957, and the company began a long process of restoration and revival. By 1988, KPM had become a limited company, and throughout the 1990s and early 2000s it returned to its historic roots, reissuing earlier services and rediscovering lost moulds from its 250-year archive.

In 2006, the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin was privatised under banker Jörg Woltmann, who has overseen a renewed emphasis on heritage, craftsmanship, and international visibility. Collaborations with brands such as Bugatti and contemporary designers have ensured KPM’s continuing relevance in the luxury porcelain market. Today, each painted piece continues to be hand-signed and marked with the cobalt blue sceptre, reinforcing KPM’s legacy as one of Europe’s most prestigious porcelain manufacturers.