Some things are just there. They are so self-evident that you have never asked yourself where they actually come from or what they mean. Yet they can tell exciting stories. Just like our trademark! The cobalt blue sceptre has an eventful past...

When Frederick the Great bought the manufactory from Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky more than 255 years ago, he literally left his mark on the porcelain. Since then, the sceptre mark from the electoral Brandenburg coat of arms can be found on almost all KPM products - at least those that pass the strict quality requirements. If the porcelain piece passes the test after the glow firing, the sceptre is applied to the porcelain with blue underglaze paint. Only then is it glazed and fired a second time, whereby the cobalt color bonds inseparably with the glaze. This not only shows the origin - the porcelain piece is also forgery-proof!

A look at the different eras shows that the KPM trademark has often changed. The small deviations in the early days are mainly due to the apprentices who applied the signet with a brush - not everyone had the same steady hand, of course. And when a wave of imitation began in the middle of the 19th century, the Prussian eagle was used as a reminder of royal authority. The kingdom is now passé and there are trademark protection laws. However, with its reference to its original form, the current KPM stamp carries its traditional origins within it - and tells those who ask about it!

Since 1803, decorated porcelain has also been marked with a painter's mark. Today, this stamp in the form of an imperial orb is usually placed next to the sceptre. Depending on the type of decoration, the painter's mark is applied in different colors.

Red: A red orb marks the porcelains that are decorated with flower paintings. Colored figures and landscape paintings also receive the red stamp.

Green: If porcelain pieces are decorated without flower painting, e.g. with a gold or platinum rim, color decorations or monograms, the orb is stamped in green.

blue: An orb in blue indicates decorations that were made with hot-fire colors. These colors are fired at a very high temperature, sink into the glaze and are dishwasher-safe.

Black: Print designs, which KPM sometimes produces in small editions using a lithograph as a template for ceramic screen printing, are marked with a black orb.

At KPM, almost all decorations are painted by hand. The porcelain painters can freely interpret the motifs - such as flowers or landscapes - within the specifications of the respective decoration. At the end, the painter places his signature on the stand ring of the porcelain piece he has decorated. This identifies the painting as unique. Each painter has their own personal signature. Numbers also identify the different painting decors. Special decors bear the number 99.

There are also a few exceptions to the above principles. For example, painted MARI vases, small animal figurines and Buddy Bears are not given a painting stamp. Cutlery handles and decorative plates whose underside is not glazed are also only marked with the sceptre. Monograms consisting of flowers also receive the red imperial orb. For aesthetic reasons, spoons receive neither a sceptre nor a painter's mark.