When it comes to European porcelain, first and foremost must be made in Germany. From the beginning of the 18th century, the earliest breakthrough in the art of porcelain making was in Meissen. After more than 300 years of development, the German porcelain capital of Dresden, Germany was born a number of German porcelain brands that are now known worldwide. Such as Meissen, Dresden, and so on.
The city of Meissen is the primary source of German porcelain, which is famous for its porcelain. “Meissen” is exquisite production, a variety of styles, but the price is very high, known as “porcelain in white gold”.
In this article, we list the top manufacturers of porcelain in Germany, including well-known brands.
Villeroy & Boch
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Dinnerware, Home Decor, Sanitary Ware
Born in 1748, Villeroy & Boch is the world’s largest single porcelain brand manufacturer. Villeroy & Boch has been through the world but is still proud of the status of “royalty” unmatched. Villeroy & Boch’s shapes and colors range from traditional elegance and sophistication to rustic romance and casualness, to modern urban fashion and simplicity, with numerous styles designed for people with different tastes.
At the same time, its porcelain quality covers more pottery, fine porcelain, bone china, and glass porcelain, making the texture and style of porcelain more unified.
In terms of technology and manufacturing process, Villeroy & Boch continues to perfect itself with innovation, combining the best materials, meticulous craftsmanship, and advanced technology to achieve better quality. The extensive use of techniques such as copperplate engraving, traditional hand-painting, and floral paper, as well as the application of the latest transfer technology to the expression of product patterns, allows for a richer and more embellished interpretation of the colors of ceramic products.
Meissen Porcelain
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Home Decor
Meissen was the first top porcelain company in Europe to produce genuine hard porcelain and ranks among the world’s leading porcelain manufacturers. Founded in 1710, Meissen, whose full name is Staatliche Porzellan Manufaktur Meissen, began making very fine showroom fine porcelain as early as the early 18th century. Its crossed twin swords logo and the name Meissen have become synonymous with the highest level of porcelain in the world.
A big favorite among collectors is Meissen’s porcelain doll series. The vivid porcelain dolls of different shapes, beautiful rich colors, and fine realistic details depict impressive moments. The porcelain dolls are highly decorative, large or small, and each piece is hand-crafted and painted in gold. At least half of the porcelain produced by Mason is currently exported worldwide, with the main export markets being Japan and Taiwan.
Hoechst Porzellan
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Home Decor
The Höchst Porcelain Manufactory was founded in 1746 as a porcelain manufactory for the constituency of Mainz. The product range of the Höchster Porzellan-Manufaktur includes gifts and accessories, figures and sculptures as well as cookie porcelain, white glazed porcelain, and colored porcelain for the service sector. Their products are not only modern home and gift accessories that reflect the spirit of the times. They are also high-quality technical decorations for fine cuisine.
Dresdner Porzellan
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Home Decor
Dresden is both a place name and a porcelain brand and is inextricably linked to Meissen. Outside of Dresden, 16 miles to the northwest, is where the Meissen porcelain kilns are located. People used to call all the porcelain produced in Dresden Dresden porcelain. The style of early Dresden porcelain was mostly copied from Meissen, and most of the porcelain was not even fired by itself.
In the 19th-century European Romantic art movement, Dresden, as the capital of the Saxon kingdom, was the center of art and culture. It was also this trend that inspired Dresden porcelain gradually formed the iconic own Rococo Revival revival Rococo style. In recent years the quality of Dresden porcelain has been increasingly recognized by collectors and prices have risen rapidly. Each piece of Dresden porcelain is completely hand-painted, and rarely see the transfer of color, Dresden Dresden portrait porcelain ornaments are very famous, especially the “Dresden Lace Dresden Lace” process to produce porcelain dolls.
Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Teaware, Home Decor
Since 1763, KPM in Berlin has been making porcelain. The company is especially good at the realistic painted decoration of flowers and fruits. Each flower and fruit is hand-painted, and KPM’s mocha/coffee mugs are popular with collectors for their excellent quality, hard, white, transparent, and pure porcelain, which has been competing with Meissen.
Rosenthal
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware
Rosenthal has a history of over 100 years, and each individual piece undergoes a rigorous and meticulous process. Molding and coloring are done by hand. Rosenthal was founded in 1879 by Philipp Rosenthal in Germany and began producing its own white porcelain in 1891. In 1910, Rosenthal established an art department and expanded from practical tableware design to collectible and decorative gift design. By 1929, the Rosenthal brand was internationally known. Rosenthal’s porcelain is known for its high quality and simple designs. Collectors are usually looking for their early hand-painted models, as well as very fine-pressed patterns.
Fuerstenberg
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware
Few other brands celebrate the magic of everyday objects as much as the porcelain manufacturer Fuerstenberg. Here, it makes sense to treat cups and plates as works of art. Since 1753, the Fuerstenberg brand has stood for stylish tableware. The “Fuerstenberg art” was already a great success in the 19th century: thanks to its decorative vases and the high demand for collectors’ cups. In the 1930s, Fuerstenberg made a brave break with traditional forms. Practicality and functionality became a distinctive feature of Weserbergland (the mountains around the Weser River) porcelain and caused a sensation at the Paris World’s Fair.
FÜRSTENBERG is as special today as it was 250 years ago, and the artistic hand-painted porcelain represents a fascinating combination of craftsmanship and design.
Nymphenburg
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Home Decor
The Pollan Manufaktur Nymphenburg, located in Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. It was founded in 1747 by the Elector Count Max III of the Wittelsbach dynasty, who ruled Bavaria for more than 800 years. Nymphenburg is a handcrafted porcelain workshop for the Bavarian royal family in Germany and one of the top old porcelain workshops in Europe. Since its foundation in the 18th century, Nymphenburg has been a temple of high-quality porcelain production, producing top-quality royal tableware, porcelain dolls, and all kinds of porcelain objects in the tradition of the royal family and the only handcrafted.
Wallendorfer
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Home Decor
Wallendorf Porcelain is a German porcelain brand with one of the oldest porcelain trademarks in Europe. As a German porcelain manufacturing company, it has been operating in Licht (Wallendorf) in the Thuringian plateau since its foundation in 1764. In the beginning, Wallendorfer Porzellan made porcelain using local raw materials, and in 1780 the company began making pottery using Bohemian kaolin.
Because it is very niche, not much is known about it on the Internet. However, the phrase is very popular “Wallendorf porcelain is now brilliant white, beautifully” painted and so hard, that even sparks are emitted by friction on steel”
In addition to everyday porcelain, Wallendorf Porcelain’s most collectible items are the ceramic statues they make.
Kahla
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware
Kahla is a long-established German porcelain manufacturer founded in 1844, with a strong and durable heritage of craftsmanship that is easier to care for than English bone china. KAHLA is such a beautiful and practical everyday porcelain brand, even German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also its loyal user.
Germany Kahla Kara to simple and creative unique design, in the past 17 years accumulated over 70 international design innovation international awards, the world’s reputation. It has also been honored and recommended by the “European White Kitchen Hat Association”. In 2005, the company was named by the German government as one of the top 150 most innovative companies.
Kahla porcelain is safe for use in dishwashers, ovens, and microwaves, even for products with glazed colors and patterns. It realizes one-stop cooking from refrigerator to microwave to oven and then to the table, making cooking more convenient.
Becasa Porcelain
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Wholesale, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Home Decor
Becasa Porcelain, a young porcelain manufacturer with 20 years of experience, has created a series of unconventional yet harmonious porcelain concepts with its close-to-life designs. Modern design, in line with the user’s lifestyle, diversity, and individuality beyond function creates the unique style of THE BECASA brand. All Becasa Porcelain products are originally designed and manufactured in China. The brand is well known in the world and has many loyal users.
Becasa Porcelain’s pure white hard porcelain is made from all-natural materials, without the use of any animal ashes or harmful chemicals. The porcelain dough can even be used to make masks that have excellent cleansing and skin-beautifying properties. One hundred percent is healthy, environmentally friendly, and safe.
The porcelain blank has been kiln fired at high temperatures and has a high density, low permeability, and low water absorption, and is resistant to wear, corrosion, and high temperatures. More importantly, the Becasa Porcelain dinnerware will not destroy the original flavor of the food. Such as the blue and white dinnerware collection, and reactive glaze dinnerware, these are their best sellers in 2021.
Wagner & Apel
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Home Decor
Wagner & Apel Porzellan is a porcelain manufacturer located in the small town of Lippelsdorf in Thuringia, Germany. Since its foundation in 1877, the company’s porcelain has been made entirely by hand. Wagner & Apel Porzellan products include realistic animal and bird sculptures, cute children’s statues, Christmas decorations and gifts, and modern boats in both traditional and contemporary styles.
Arzberg
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware
The Arzberg brand stands for perfectly formed porcelain, presenting a contemporary and timeless design sense.
The town of Arzberg, whose full name is Porzellanfabrik Arzberg, is known worldwide for its strong design style. The first porcelain factory was established in 1838 and became a pioneer in the production of porcelain worldwide. Durability has become one of Arzberg’s hallmarks.
The success of Arzberg can be attributed to these highly acclaimed designers. At the end of the 1920s, the new collection “1382” was launched in collaboration with Hermann Gretsch. The collection was a hit from 1931, proving that a well-designed product not only stays in fashion but also conforms to the principles of classic design.
Seltmann Weiden
- Company Type: Manufacturer, Brand
- Main Products: Porcelain Dinnerware, Porcelain Teaware
Seltmann Weiden, founded in 1910. It has a 100-year history of designing a wide range of tableware with a stylish, modern, classic, elegant, and modern design that has made it the choice of many collectors of fine porcelain. The product line includes Western-style tableware, dolls, decorative items, coffee cups, etc. It is suitable for many occasions because the porcelain smoothes as muscle and has multiple theme patterns. This brand is characterized by having “more Chinese than Chinese” porcelain with a superb texture.
The 100% German-made, genuine 1400-degree sintered German hard porcelain. And it is one of the very few porcelains that are guaranteed dishwasher safe.
Seltmann Weiden is not only one of the most famous and largest porcelain producers in Europe. It is also the imperial porcelain manufacturer for the German royal family. Today, it is also the largest supplier of porcelain products for domestic and hospitality use in Germany.
ASA Selection
- Company Type: Brand
- Main Products: Dinnerware, Teaware, Home Decor
ASA Selection is a brand founded by Axel and Yvonne Schubkegel in 1976. With its robust design philosophy, its products always straddle the line between fashion and intimacy. Because of the modern and minimalist style, it is often surprising to see the trend on the table with its freshness.
The most important feature of ASA Selection products is that they complement the beauty of the food well without overpowering it. The shape and color of the tableware are primarily to match the color and flavor of the food. Therefore, ASA Selection’s products do not have an overly colorful appearance, but only light and cohesive crystals.
ASA Selection’s products currently specialize in not only ceramic tableware, but also vases, candle holders, and other home accessories fabrics. Among them is the Spa series, which won the Red Dot Design Award in Germany. With continuous innovation, the company has gained a large market share and has its own global offices. Its products are sold in 80 countries and have successfully established the concept of “harmonizing the style of the accent parts with the overall color”. Their ideas start with the simplest of shapes, with no oddity shaped in their designs. Although simple and unpretentious, they follow the trends and the spirit of the times. As a result, their products enjoy a very good reputation.
