An Introduction of Meissen China

Meissen is Europe's oldest china manufacturer and some of the early pieces, which would have been made for European Royalty, will sell for very large sums. If you are interested in Meissen there are pieces for the collector with a more modest budget.

In the early 17th century fine porcelain was worth a great deal of money, since European manufacturers had not yet discovered how to make it. The King of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, was very taken with it and built a Palace in the Japanese style to house his collection. As the King had spent a lot of money on this he needed to replenish the coffers and he had heard of an alchemist called John Böttger, who claimed he could turn metal into gold. Bad mistake, the King imprisoned him and asked him to do just that. Böttger was a quick thinker and offered to make 'white gold', as fine white porcelain was called, instead. By 1710 Böttger had managed to crack the formula and Augustus built a new factory at Meissen. Three years later the first white hard-paste European made porcelain went on sale.

Initially they made teapots, cups and Buddha-like figures, copied from Chinese and Japanese china. As the European porcelain was expensive to make the decoration had to be impressive. A painter employed at Meissen, J G Hörold, invented chinoiserie decoration which was more exotic than its Chinese counterpart. He also painted tea sets with garden flowers, birds and landscapes, more familiar to the European customer.

In the 1730 J J Kändler started making porcelain figures to decorate the banqueting tables of great houses and palaces. He was a brilliant sculptor and was able to make life-like figures of Chinese gods as well as ladies in crinoline dresses. On your dining table you would often have a group of porcelain cows and sheep as well as more exotic animals.

People often wonder why there is such a fuss about Meissen china - it is the manufacture and decoration that makes it stand out. Clay is very difficult to work with and collectors really appreciate the skill of the maker and decorator. What collectors often don't appreciate is the conditions under which the porcelain was made. Workmen were kept as virtual prisoners and were not permitted to stray outside the ancient castle walls which surrounded the factory. They were paid very low wages and many workers just though of excape and they plotted to take valuable secrets with them. Some managed to get out and helped to establish rival factories across Germany. Meissen was captured by invading Prussians during the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and they lost almost everything.

In the latter part of the 18th century Meissen had competition from French as well as English manufacturers, but they grew rapidly in the 19th century and became extremely popular in Britain. An entire section of the factory concentrated on making porcelain in 'the English taste' and they couldn't make it fast enough, they sold in their thousands.

Meissen introduced its crossed swords mark in 1723 to stop other manufacturers from selling their inferior porcelain as Meissen. The mark was widely copied and even great factories like Minton, Derby and Coalport used the crossed swords on pieces they sold as 'English Dresden'. After long legal battles the crossed swords is now a protected trade mark. However, there are many fakes and you should only buy from a reputable dealer or auctioneer.

As we entered the 20th century Meissen's traditional style lost some of its appeal and during the art nouveau and art deco periods they started making modern patterns and figures. They only made a small number of figures and they are rare and expensive. Meissen is still hand-decorated, which pushes up the price. If you are interested in collecting it you can occasionally pick up a nice flower-painted cup and saucer for between £200 and £300. If you like the 19th century cabinet pieces, they can cost anyting from £500 to £3,000. While 18th century blue and white china is rare, it is not expensive and you could get it for around £150. You might also want to look out for the post war productions of white porcelain or red stoneware made in the 1950s and 1960s and they go for anything between £40 and £400.

Try to get your piece of Meissen china in perfect condition and always examine it for cracks. This is less important with Meissen figures where damage or repair doesn't lower the value by much, you should avoid pieces with broken necks or missing limbs. As always, a piece in perfect condition will always be worth more.

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Interesting Facts About the Letter V

For those of us who are looking to improve our vocabulary for the sake of winning a Scrabble game or two, learning new words can definitely become a boring and even frustrating activity. Despite the obvious benefit of becoming a serious player to be reckoned with, committing words to memory can still be an arduous task for some of us. When it comes to learning words that start with V, discovering some interesting facts about the letter can vivify us whenever we feel like quitting.

In the English language, the letter V is the 22nd letter of the alphabet. It originated from the Semitic word "waw." It was first used in the Latin language to represent the /u/ and /w/ sound. It was only during the late Middle Ages when the pronunciation of the letter slowly started to change to "vee." The letter V, aside from being a consonant, also serves as a Roman numeral (V = 5), one of the few letters that do so. Another interesting fact about it is that it has been used as a title of two movies: V for Vendetta and V (referring to the 5th Roman numeral).

In the game of Scrabble, the letter V has the potential to help form high scoring words because it is worth 4 points. It is also one of the less occurring letters in the game with only 2 V tiles. Uninteresting facts, to be sure. But when it comes to words that start with V, things begin to look interesting. Some of the 3-letter V words include DEV, GUV, and TAV. These three mean a Hindu deity, the British slang for governor, and the 23rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet, respectively. While some may feel that these are not really English words, they have been deemed acceptable because a large part of the English-speaking community is aware of what they mean. One of the words starting with V that is sure to raise your eyebrows is VROW (also spelled VROUW) which means a Dutch woman. Other non-English V words are GANEV (Yiddish) and SCHAV (also Yiddish). The former means a thief and the latter is a type of chilled soup.

Something that will definitely peak your interest in the letter is that none of the words that start with V are considered part of the 100 most commonly used words in the English language. In fact, only 10 words starting with V made it to the top 1000 most commonly used words. These are VERY, VERB, VOWEL, VOICE, VARY, VISIT, VILLAGE, VALUE, VIEW, and VALLEY. Words that have a V in them, on the other hand, are considerably more popularly used. In the same top 1000 list, this group of words appeared more than 50 times. It does make one wonder why VICTORY didn't make the list.

With such interesting facts to keep you occupied, you won't veer off course learning those ever so important words that start with V.

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Collecting Compacts

When people think about collecting they often imagine that you need a lot of money to become a collector. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a beginner you might not want to start at the high end with, say, Georgian silver, but there are many beautiful objects at modest prices that would soon form a stunning collection and I would highly recommend collecting compacts.

Compacts appeal to our feminine side and remind us of a bygone age when life was somewhat more elegant than today. Because compacts were used by everyone they are not rare to find and can often be had for around £20 and you should definitely check out your local car boot sale or antiques fair.

Needless to say, the rarer examples are somewhat more expensive but still very affordable and prices depend on the condition of the piece. If you are starting out collecting compacts you should initially look out for two makers, Stratton and Kigu, which are the best known British compact makers. Stratton began making compacts in the 1920s and they were made in a number of shapes which were named Princess, Empress, Queen and so on. If a compact was called a convertable it meant that it could hold pressed as well as loose powder. The surface decorations were varied - there were gold tones, transfer prints and enamels as well as, tortoise shell, celluloid and embroidery. Stratton did not only pay attention to the look of the compact, they were also interested in improving the functionality and one of it's innovations was the self opening lid which saved many a smart lady from a broken fingernail.

As fashion changed and women no longer used face powder Stratton went into decline and was finally acquired in 2000 by Firmin & Sons and they still make a limited range of beautiful compacts.

Kigu of London took its name from the founder Gustav Kiaschek and Kigu compacts were very popular from the 1950s to the 1970s and there were some fascinating designs, especially the Flying Saucer. This was first made in the mid to late 1950s when anything to do with space was very fashionable and the Flying Saucer compact was a piece of design genius. Examples are very rare and go for hundreds of pounds when they come up at auction. There are cheaper Kigu compacts and you should look out for one of their musical ones.

While Stratton and Kigu are among the best know of compact makers there are many others, including Mascot, Coty, Yardley, Vogue Vanities, as well Houbigant, a French make. You will also find many unmarked compacts which can be especially beautiful and interesting.

If you want to start collecting compacts your first port of call should be an antiques and collector's fair where you will usually find a good selection. If you are within striking distance of Birmingham you should try to visit the Antiques for Everyone event, where you will find several sellers. Car boot sales and flea markets are often a good source for compacts and you could end up with a bargain.

Before buying a compact you should check that it opens and closes easily and that the interior is not damaged. When buying enamelled compacts check for damage, as enamel chips easily. Be prepared to pay a premium if the compact is in its original pouch or box as this will add value.

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