I have created BuyMeissen.com as the premier resource for Meissen Porcelain. Within the site will be provided a wealth of invaluable information, including new facts that have come to light only recently regarding Meissen’s history. This will, in fact, be almost a biography of the porcelain Manufactory. BuyMeissen.com has been designed to be user friendly and fully accessible to the disabled. Each section has an introduction fully explaining, in precise detail, exactly how to navigate each heading. Furthermore, each will also have audio version too. In order to be able to see all the headings on one page, the site map has a description of every page listed. We would certainly appreciate any comments or suggestions that you may have.
BuyMeissen.com is more than just a resource of everything associated with Meissen. It’s about bringing together academics, buyers, sellers and collectors to share information in such a way that they will help to create the most important site for Meisen ever, yet one that is accessible to all with it’s plain and simple approach. BuyMeissen.com invites you to supply any information, news or images that you believe be of interest.
Finding your way around the site couldn’t be easier. Each of the site’s buttons has an introduction explaining in detail what to do and what you will see. During the next few months expect an audio version too.
From left to right
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There are also subheadings, where you can find information just relating to those particular headings. However, it maybe possible to find subheadings that appear to link to the same pages. This is because the information contained relates to one or more headings.
For instance, the Museum heading is a good example. Collections may be private but could be found in both collections in museums and in private collections.
As complex the navigation may seem, here is another example of the ease with which you can navigate this comprehensive site. Clicking on the resource page brings down a menu. Firstly on this there is the Meissen blog If you click on this, it takes you to the blog page. Click on Meissen Encyclopedia and you access a number of subheadings, the top one is What is Meissen porcelain? If you click here, you will find information about the Meissen manufactory's history, its place in the development of porcelain and how collectors accumulated their collections. Click on chronological list of modelers and you arrive at the list of modelers in chronological order, together with a brief summary of each modeler, who they were and when the were born and died. If you prefer to see a more concise list, go back one sep to resources and press the modler’s heading which gives you a short but complete list of the names of modelers.
About Laurence Mitchell
I’m Laurence Mitchell and I’ve been an antique dealer for some 30 years now. Although my main speciality is Meissen, I have specialised in English and European ceramics of the 18th and 19th century and oriental ceramics and works of art. I have also dealt in twentieth century decorative arts, including both Art Deco and Art Nouveau, European bronzes and, English and European furniture and modern design. While working with all the major auction houses, including Bonhams, Christies, Phillips and Sothebys in London and the provinces, I have also developed close contacts with many of the smaller auction rooms. Internationally, I trade directly in major overseas markets like the United States, Europe and the Far East and have access to an extensive network of international associates in the antique and art world.
In providing expert advice to the trade, auction houses, collectors and insurers in respect of authentication, prices and quality. Furthernore Laurence Mitchell created Trusted Restoration and supplies consultants to the Insurance industry and has created a one stop shop for restoration and insurance claim advice and service.
My life in trading started when I had just turned 15. As a teenager I had become an avid stamp collector of British and commonwealth stamps. One Saturday morning whilst I was browsing one of the stamp dealers in London’s St. Martin Lanes stamp and coin center one of the dealers whom incidently was not much older than myself asked me whether I would be interested in a Saturday job. Within a year I progressed to selling stamps at a stamp and coin center in East Street market close to Elephant and Castle. Rain or shine I would be there from 8am to 1pm every Sunday morning. From here I advanced as a wholesaler of British stamps attending many auctions and selling to other dealers and a few private customers.
At about this time my mother had been working for a second hand dealer who handled antiques and she too saw an opportunity to open her own antiques shop in the Flea Market in London’s Camden Passage. As I watched her business grow my facination for antiques grew to such an extent that I had to choose antiques or philately.
My choice was satisfied when I had bought a very large box that contained many 100,000’s of stamps. I was handling a stamp with tweezers worth several 100 pounds, quite a lot of money in those day. Suddenly my hand slipped and the stamp vanished for ever.
I had built up a knowledge of 18th and 19th century English porcelain, blue and white transferware and Chinese decorative porcelain. My first rare find was a Dr.Wall Blue and white flower pot cracked in half. Although only a few were known to exist because of its large size, it did not appeal to the majority of collectors but I sold it to the Zorensky's. Their collection represented one of the finest and important collections of English 18th century porcelain and pottery in north america until it was broken up and sold through Bonhams London between 2004 and 2006.
My life in dealing started back in 1975 England was unparalleled in the abundance of all types of antiques. Dealers from all parts of the globe flocked to us but it was the Americans and Japanese who fought to buy most of the best antiques we had. Although I tirelessly traveled around England buying from many antiques shops I began to travel the world and especially North America and during the 80’s and first half of the 90’s commuted there three times a month.
In the US I saw opportunity to buy from dealers who did not have the turn around of stock that us English did. My preference was buying from the largest and important dealers . On one visit to the US during 1980 I returned to London with 300 items of Meissen But, it was my thirst to deal in later 19th century Meissen that grew. It would be impossible for me to gestulate the quantity of different models or forms I have sold. From buying and selling one of only 8 vases made 160cms high, a pair of Spinx’s 3’ across to exquisite family groups of the finest quality only 4” across. I am fascinated when I find a model I haven’t seen or bought before.
Nevertherless, it never fails to surprise me the amount of so called ‘Meissen’ in the market place never lived in Meissen and those items that may have started off as porcelain Meissen were often painted in Dresden or elsewhere and the number of other factory’s that copied the factory it never ceases to surprise me the number of salesrooms that described a lot as being ’Meissen’ and those that bought such pieces the numbers must be overwhelming.
In 1996 I embarked on the quest to find the cronological story of as many items as physically was possible from a book that In 1990 I acquired. A very rare catalogue used by the salesmen from the factory it contained 1754 black and white images that illustrate mostly what Meissen porcelain circa 1880 should look like, and a few newer models that were modeled between 1900 and 1910. The book was published October 2005.
Although I am not working on a second edition I thought it would be a good idea to focus on a website devoted to Meissen porcelain where much more can be found than in my book.