Riga Porcelain

Humanitārās un sociālās zinātnes 2016
Ingunda Šperberga, Ilgvars Grosvalds

Porcelain originated in China, and it has its roots at the beginning of our era. The highest level of the development of porcelain production was reached in the time of Ming Dynasty. Chinese porcelain was characterized by decorative elements: deities, holy animals – the dragon, dog, etc. Europe was introduced with the 13th century Chinese porcelain by the Venetian merchant Marco Polo. Chinese and Japanese porcelain in Europe was in great demand. At the same time, also Europe was trying to discover the secret of porcelain. Beginnings of the Riga porcelain production were closely related to the development of this sector in Russia. There, the secret of porcelain manufacturing was discovered by Dmitry Vinogradov, M. Lomonosov’s schoolmate, in 1752. Whereas in the 19th century, the decisive role in the porcelain production in Russia was played by the Kuznetsov family, who built the first porcelain manufactory in Latvia, in the suburbs of Riga, in 1841. In 1886, Jacob Karl Jessen established another porcelain factory – at the north part of Riga. Later, in 1963, both factories were consolidated into one factory – Riga Porcelain and Faience Factory (1963–1968), which was afterwards (from 1968) renamed Riga Porcelain Factory. Riga Porcelain Factory was closed in 1997. Thanks to the efforts of a group of enthusiasts and the Riga City Council for financial support, the collection of the factory’s unique exhibits was kept and served as the basis for the establishment of the Riga Porcelain Museum in 2001.

Keywords
history of development in Latvia,porcelain production, traditions

Šperberga, I., Grosvalds, I. Riga Porcelain. Humanitārās un sociālās zinātnes, 2016, Vol.26, pp.25-35. ISSN 1407-9291. e-ISSN 2255-8543.

Publication language
Latvian (lv)