NEUZIERAT: THE FLORID FAVORITE SERVICE OF FRIEDRICH THE GREAT
Hardly any other service embodies the simple elegance of Prussian Rococo better than NEUZIERAT by Frederick Elias Meyer from 1767, which is why it soon became a favorite among the 21 services that Frederick the Great commissioned from the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin.
The Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin safeguards its art-historical heritage by allowing the forms and decorations of past eras to continue to flourish, thus preserving the tradition of European art history. We would like to introduce you to the services that European royalty ate from over 250 years ago and which today - a quarter of a millennium later - have lost none of their fascination.
To begin with, we would like to introduce you to NEUZIERAT, Frederick the Great's favorite service.
The art-loving monarch of the Rococo period
When Frederick the Great took over the Berlin porcelain manufactory in 1763, he was not only pursuing goals of a business nature. Frederick II. loved and collected precious porcelain. He had a soft spot for the beauty of the material, for elegant rococo forms and artistic painting motifs. Frederick's aim was always to manufacture products that met the highest standards in every respect, both artistically and technically.
Ironically, he liked to call himself his best customer and ordered 21 Rococo-style porcelain services for his palaces alone. It is therefore not surprising that he always wanted to be involved in the design of most Rococo services himself. Frederician Rococo was clearly inspired by the French way of life.
Restrained elegance in the spirit of Prussian rococo
The NEUZIERAT, designed by Frederick Elias Meyer - the manufactory's first model master - lent its elegant expression to the Prussian, comparatively simple Rococo style on the white gold of KPM Berlin and was strongly based on the RELIEFZIERAT form, also made by Frederick Elias Meyer in 1765. The shape of the handle is the same on both services. The relief decoration of rods and rocailles surrounded by leafy tendrils is in balance with the smooth surfaces, which offer plenty of room for a wide variety of decorations.
Bleu Mourant becomes an often quoted saying of the Berliners: when they feel unwell, as tired as this blue, they get all "blümerant".
The king had a particular preference for a very special decoration. He waited a long time for the chemists in the laboratory of the Berlin manufactory to achieve the delicate grey-blue color mixture that he loved so much and with which he liked to surround himself in Sanssouci. It ultimately took seven years before success was achieved in 1782. KPM Berlin's famous Bleu mourant was born and is still a well-kept secret of the KPM laboratory today.
