Manufacturing

Kiln

After the formed porcelain castings have dried, they are put in the kiln in a mobile structure and hardened at 950°C in the initial mild firing. They are then thinly coated by hand with a glaze and fired again for up to 36 hours, at temperatures not exceeding 1400°C. During this second glost firing, the glaze fuses with the porcelain. The result is the pure white, very smooth and hard finish for which Nymphenburg porcelain is famous. To get this unique transparency of porcelain and brilliance in the glaze, the composition of the paste, the glaze and the firing have to be optimally co-ordinated. After painting, the porcelain is fired one more time. During this colour firing, which is done in stages at temperatures ranging from1300°C to 760°C, the glaze fuses with the paint.

Painting

Ruth Gurvich did her sketches for the decoration on paper models – delicate Asian mountain landscapes seeming to vanish in mist, or discontinuous meanders. The definitive motifs developed in the master workshops from numerous roughs and colour trials are documented in the form of a “painting model”. This acts as a blueprint for all painters to work from, while still allowing individual interpretations that give every single piece a visibly personal touch. Each item is a one-off. Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg has possessed its own paint laboratory for over 260 years. This is where thousands of pigments and oxides for all the paints used in production are mixed and manufactured following closely guarded formulae. The colour range used at Nymphenburg today comprises around 20,000 shades.

Moulding Shop

In Nymphenburg, all parts that cannot be made on the wheel, such as the handles of teapots, are cast by hand from liquefied porcelain paste (known as slip) in plaster moulds that can be reused up to 15 times. These moulds, which are often assembled from numerous wedge pieces, absorb the water from the slip, causing it to thicken and solidify. By the time the mould is opened some hours later, the item has shrunk slightly, and can be taken away from the mould easily. The body and handle of the teapot are cast separately, and joined with liquid porcelain paste. It is entirely up to the eye and expertise of the Nymphenburg porcelain master craftsmen to ensure that the fine paper structure of the original model remains visible on the porcelain throughout the bisque, glost and paint firings.

Unlike symmetrical plates, the plates in the Lightscape series are not turned on the wheel but cast by hand. After removal from the mould, the porcelain paste that comes out at the top is removed manually with a scalpel and the edge tidied up with a tropical elephant-ear sponge (Agelas clathrodes).

Model shop

The model shop is the heart of the Nymphenburg porcelain manufactory. This is where the plaster moulds for casting the porcelain components are made. It is a craft that requires decades of experience and great technical expertise. An archetype model is produced under the watchful eye of the master, and casting moulds are made from this as often as necessary. In order to replicate the delicate paper structure and the ultra fine details of the surface, a new mould has to be used after every fifteen castings.