FAQ
- What is special about Nymphenburg porcelain?
- What does manufacturing at Nymphenburg actually mean?
- Where is Nymphenburg porcelain made?
- Who owns Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg?
- Can I have special pieces made at Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg?
- Can I complement inherited dinner services by Nymphenburg?
- How can I recognise Nymphenburg porcelain at auctions and in antique shops and so on?
- How can I find out in which year my Nymphenburg service was made?
- Is it possible to restore Nymphenburg porcelain?
- Is it possible to hire Nymphenburg porcelain for special occasions?
- How do I care for glazed Nymphenburg porcelain?
- And how should biscuit porcelain be properly treated?
What is special about Nymphenburg porcelain?
All patterns are hand painted which makes each piece unique – thus creating stable value and stimulating collectors' interest. Vignettes and transfers are used in industrial production – but never at Nymphenburg. Each of the painters with their decades of training possesses the artistic skills to paint the motifs as required by the respective pattern.
What does manufacturing at Nymphenburg actually mean?
"Manu factum" at the workshops in Nymphenburg really means: made ENTIRELY by hand. Each plate is turned by hand, each vase is cast by hand, each ornament is individually applied. Nymphenburg even purchases its raw materials individually. It doesn't use sourced porcelain paste or paints. Each piece of work is based on individually coordinated porcelain mass as well as paint from the manufactory's own laboratories in order to ensure a quality and purity that remains unrivalled in the world.
Where is Nymphenburg porcelain made?
Porcelain services, figures and objects of the greatest quality and purity have been produced at just one location in the world – the Nördliches Schlossrondell in Nymphenburg – since the 18th century.
Who owns Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg?
In 1747, Elector Max III Joseph of Bavaria established the Electoral Porcelain Manufactory at his hunting lodge in Neudeck outside Munich. Eight years later, his cousin, Elector Carl Theodor, awarded the privilege to operate the Porzellan Manufaktur Frankenthal. The two manufactories were merged under the patronage of the Wittelsbach family in Nymphenburg in 1800. Today, the manufactory is owned by the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichfond (Wittelsbach Equalising Fund) whose assets range from art treasures, and historically important collections to holdings and landed properties. These include, among other things, Schloss Berg on the banks of Lake Starnberg, Schloss Hohenschwangau, Schloss Berchtesgaden, works of art in the treasury at the Munich residence, the Pinakothek, the Glyptothek and the Bavarian National Museum.
Can I have special pieces made at Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg?
Yes, Nymphenburg has a specially dedicated department for realising even the most unusual of customer requests. The artists at the manufactory design and paint finely crafted personalised services – to match the interior designs of customers' homes – be they baroque palaces, alpine country houses or modern loft conversions. The services for Schloss Meseberg, the Federal Republic of Germany's new guesthouse, for embassies in Germany and other countries as well as for royal families are produced at Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg just as much to individual specifications as are the services for the super yachts owned by prominent celebrities. We even still produce individual colour palettes at our paint laboratory for aristocratic families and discerning customers.
Can I complement inherited dinner services by Nymphenburg?
Nymphenburg sets are frequently passed on from one family generation to the next. As a customer, you have the unlimited right to purchase items from the set, in other words, you can add a few pieces at any time. Because each piece is made by hand, you can also order historic shapes and patterns – even if they haven't been available in the shops for decades. And if it is a custom piece, you can still use the colour palette developed for you at the time.
How can I recognise Nymphenburg porcelain at auctions and in antique shops and so on?
Each item from Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg may be identified and dated by the clear mark on the bottom – the maker's mark, which is the Wittelsbach diamond-shaped coat of arms, as well as the personal mark of the potter, former and painter who produced it. Collectors' catalogues, good porcelain shops and the manufactory will provide assistance in identification.
How can I find out in which year my Nymphenburg service was made?
Each item from Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg may be identified and dated by the clear mark underneath – the maker's mark – comprising the Wittelsbach coat of arms with diamonds and the personal marks of the potter, former and painter who produced it. Collectors' catalogues and authorised Nymphenburg retailers can help here.
Is it possible to restore Nymphenburg porcelain?
We do not recommend that severely damaged items be restored when individual pieces need to be replaced and painted by hand. Reproductions frequently cost less than time-consuming restorations. Nymphenburg possesses an archive with more than 20,000 historic and contemporary designs and we are thus able to reproduce any historic piece of porcelain.
Is it possible to hire Nymphenburg porcelain for special occasions?
If you want to enjoy your wedding menu from noblest porcelain, it is also possible to hire Nymphenburg table services for up to 50 people, including centrepieces, by the day. Please contact our Customer Service directly.
How do I care for glazed Nymphenburg porcelain?
Survival formula for fragile pieces: recent hand-painted crockery may be cleaned in dishwashers, but only on a gentle setting and only if the machine is carefully filled. It is recommended that you use the cleaner specified for your dishwasher sparingly. Take particular care with the placing of the handles when filling the dishwasher. Pieces from historic and very valuable services should be washed separately in hand-warm water with a soft sponge – and dried as soon as possible as otherwise lime scale will appear. Vibrations occur in all houses. And so to prevent plates from knocking against each other in the cupboard, pieces of felt should be laid between them.
And how should biscuit porcelain be properly treated?
Biscuit porcelain is sintered in a second firing (glost firing) at around 1400°C. This firing compacts the porcelain material in such a way that no impurities are able to penetrate. Surface dirt may be removed with soap and water, obstinate dirt may be removed with cleaning solvent or spirits. Granulate cleaners and metal scourers should be avoided.