TRADITIONAL PORCELAIN

“Onion” decoration

 This type of decoration is based on depicturing and linking of simplified vegetal motifs on the background of Eastern Asian philosophy, however adjusted to the European style and approach. This was the concept of its inventor in 1729 Johan David Kretschmar who was one of the group of designers in the first European porcelain factory in Meissen.

And why blue onion pattern? Its name, known all over the world, arose entirely by chance, from misunderstanding that pomegranate decorating namely plates edges was recognized by someone, in particular also by colleagues of Johan Kretschmar, with irony as melon and mostly as onion. In this way, onion was the basis of “onion pattern” although the decoration in its whole graphic design does not depicture onion at all and this type of vegetable is not needed for production of “onion porcelain”.

Despite of that, the term “onion porcelain” is a symbol and notion of delicate beauty, linking usability with delight for the heart and representative of singularity and worldwide fame. There is no other decoration and shape which would be so much preferred for almost 300 years.

 

 

Porcelain with “onion pattern” has been produced and delivered by the company since 1885 first under the name MEISSEN and since 1956 under the trademark ZWIEBELMUSTER. The company has therefore been, for decades or even centuries, among 4 manufactures in the world which maintain the so called under-glaze technology.

Here are some samples of the upcoming products: