THE SPIRIT OF BAUHAUS IN FÜRSTENBERG CASTLE
Ducal Porcelain Manufactory at Fürstenberg Castle in Lower Saxony has been operating continuously for 270 years. And while its offer includes a hundred or even hundred years old designs, the biggest emotions among porcelain fans today are evoked by the latest projects which were created with the support of great designers.
The avant-garde crockery set Auréole, or elegant My China! with motif of Ca’D’Oro inspired by the art deco are particularly fascinating. The adventure concerning modern design began here much earlier, that is in 1934 when Wilhelm Wagenfeld associated with Bauhaus designed the famous 639 crockery set for Fürstenberg. When it was presented to the world, people claimed that this was a “milestone in the history of porcelain design.” In 1937 at the World Exhibition in Paris the crockery set won the Gold Medal and henceforth is called Wagenfeld to honour of the designer.
But what was the secret of this example of success? The crockery set meeting the requirements of its times was created – modern, functional and at the same time – beautiful. It referred to the designer’s favourite maxim, which he liked to repeat, he used to say the utensils had to be beautiful, otherwise they would not fulfill their destiny. In this case it meant pure white porcelain and shapes as simple as possible. According to the Bauhaus concept, the form was supposed to follow the function. The highest quality of both material and workmanship was guaranteed by Fürstenberg.
Today Wagenfeld has already become a classic, but despite the fact that the project is over eighty years old, the legendary crockery set continues to evoke great interest among the porcelain fans.
photo: Fürstenberg
Text: Marta Kropidłowska
