Fürstenberg [antikvár]

Fürstenberg lies on the eastern bank of the Weser, on the edge of the Solling-Vogler nature park, overlooking a fairytale land once inhabited by Sleeping Beauty, Baron Münchhausen, the Pied Piper of Hamlin and many other figures from legend and folklore. Fürstenberg is a small vacation spot with a population of about 1,300. But the name Fürstenberg is also associated with one of Germany's oldest porcelain factories -founded in 1747, and forever young in spirit and inventiveness. Some early comments on the art of Fürstenberg stillhold good today: "Boldly functional, sometimes avant-garde tableware and decorative porcelain are the hallmark of Furstenberg's art. Together with a love of tradition, one of Furstenberg's main concerns."In practice, around seventy per cent of the collection is inspired by historical models. The remaining thirty per cent is contemporary in design. Furstenberg porcelain, as popular in the United States and Japan as it is in Europe, owes its existence to the Duke of Braunschweig, Carl I. A farsighted man, Carl I soon recognised the need for economic development -particularly in the area of manufacturing - on the heavily wooded land bordering the Weser river. The Duke was seconded in his project by a man of exceptional ability, Master of the Hunt Johann Georg von Langen. Von Langen, who had previously been in the service of the Danish King Christian VI, laid the groundwork for Furstenberg's artistic and technical development.