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Royal Copenhagen
Royal Copenhagen History
The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory, which later became Royal Copenhagen, was founded as the result of experiments carried out by the pharmacist, Frantz Heinrich Müller (1738-1820). He was an expert chemist who specialised in mineralogy, and since the early 1770s he had been experimenting with hard feldspar porcelain made from quartz, kaolin and feldspar. This was the secret Chinese recipe, which had been recreated by Meissen in about 1710.
For many years Meissen had successfully kept the secret to themselves, but by the time Müller began his experiments, the ingredients of porcelain were well known, and had even been printed in a number of books. Nonetheless, theoretical knowledge alone is far from enough to guarantee success in practice, and Müller spent all his time and money on experiments with his little porcelain kiln.
In 1774 Müller was finally ready to invite potential investors to subscribe for shares in a Danish porcelain factory, but very little interest was shown. This changed when the Queen Dowager Juliane Marie and her son the heir presumptive to the throne Frederik became partners in a limited company, which became a reality in 1775.
For almost a century the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory was run by the Royal Family. In 1868 it passed into private hands, but still retained its name and the privilege of flying the royal swallow-tailed flag. Some years later, in 1882-84, the factory was amalgamated with the Aluminia faience factory and moved from the centre of Copenhagen to new premises in Frederiksberg.
An artistic young manager was appointed: he was the painter and architect Arnold Krog (1856-1931), who was interested in underglaze painting. Krog’s first task was to breathe new life into the factory’s great original service, Blue Fluted. He then developed a new technique for painting under the glaze, which made it possible to depict landscapes and apply other naturalistic decorations. The new porcelain was shown at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889, and in the course of the next few years the underglaze decorated porcelain made the factory world famous.
The second Danish porcelain factory, Bing & Grøndahl, opened in 1853. This intensified international competition. The two factories merged in 1987 to become Royal Copenhagen.
For over two centuries, Royal Copenhagen has supplied homes in Denmark and internationally with art and design, functioning as a playground and workplace for craftsmen, designers and artists who were bold enough to make their mark on posterity by challenging their own time. Royal Copenhagen today is a producer of craftsmanship and design with a contemporary international profile, selling products that delight collectors and new generations of customers worldwide.
If you are interested in reading more about the history of Royal Copenhagen, there is considerable literature on the subject.
History timeline
1775
"Den Kongeligt Privilegerede Porcelainsfabrik" (The Royal Chartered Porcelain Manufactory) is founded as a limited company under the patronage of the Queen Dowager Juliane Marie, Crown Prince Frederik and King Christian VII. The factory is set up at St. Kjøbmagergade 50 and takes three wavy lines, symbolising the Great Belt, Little Belt and Øresund, as its trademark.
1779
The factory’s finances are in a wretched state as a result of building up stock instead of selling it. King Christian VII takes over financial responsibility. The factory changes its name to ‘Den Kongelige Danske Porcelains Fabrik’ (The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory).
1780
The first shop opens in premises located on the first floor of the factory building. When Lord Nelson is in the Danish capital after the Battle of Copenhagen, he buys porcelain costing the equivalent of employing 16 maids for a year.
1783
The factory has a workforce of 128.
1790
Production of the Flora Danica service begins.
1820s.
G. F. Hetsch becomes artistic consultant. In 1827 he redesigns the shop, which becomes the most stylish in Copenhagen and is heated by means of hot air from flues. The shop holds exhibitions and charges admission, with the proceeds going to the factory’s poor relief fund. On a single Saturday 1,200 tickets are sold for the exhibition of a service for Princess Caroline’s trousseau.
1830s.
The factory becomes the pride of the nation. The porcelain paste is improved under the direction of chemist C. W. Bergsøe, who previously worked for H.C. Ørsted, while artistic standards are raised by G. F. Hetsch. The porcelain is put on show at the industrial exhibitions of the day.
1840s.
The factory gets its first shop at street level. The ban on importing porcelain from abroad is lifted and the Constitution of 1849 gives every Danish citizen the right to choose his own occupation – including making porcelain. This means that the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory loses its privileges.
1853
Bing & Grøndahl is founded in Vesterbro by Grøndahl, a figurine maker from the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory, and the Bing brothers, who are both art dealers. The factory wins a medal at the International Exhibition in London in 1862.
1863
The Aluminia faience factory is founded in Christianshavn. In 1868 it moves to Frederiksberg. Between 1875 and 1885 it produces 33 million pieces of faience.
1868
The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory is privatised. It starts producing items from the 18th century and makes a profit. The first female painter is employed and painting in blue gradually becomes women’s work.
1882
The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory is bought up by Aluminia. In 1884 it is moved to new premises at Aluminia in Frederiksberg. At the same time the shop moves to Amagertorv 10.
1885
A young architect, Arnold Krog, is appointed artistic director to revitalise the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory. B&G also gets a new artistic director, painter Pietro Krohn.
1888
Krog shows his first Japanese-inspired underglaze porcelain at the Great Nordic Exhibition in Copenhagen, while Krohn shows his Heron service.
1889
Krog’s underglaze is awarded the Grand Prix at the World Fair in Paris. The factory makes its international breakthrough and opens shops in a number of major cities – Paris, New York and London.
1900
Krog is awarded the Grand Prix for his Marguerite service at the World Fair in Paris.
1904
Faience designed for Aluminia in the art nouveau style by Christian Joachim and Harald Slott-Møller is awarded the Grand Prix at the World’s Fair in St. Louis. Aluminia faience subsequently wins many awards.
1911
The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory’s shop moves to its present address at Amagertorv 6.
1912
Patrick Nordström starts developing stoneware at the Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory.
1914-1918
The two porcelain factories sell their wares in vast quantities during the First World War, when there is a lot of spending power.
1925
The Danish porcelain factories win medals and distinctions at the 1925 Paris Exhibition.
1940-45
The war makes operations difficult at the porcelain factories owing to shortages of fuel and raw materials. In 1944 Aluminia is destroyed in Nazi reprisals. The war has an impact on production long after the Liberation.
1945-65
Services and individual pieces are created by artists such as Thorkild Olsen, Axel Salto, Gertrud Vasegaard, Erik Magnussen, Henning Koppel and Grethe Meyer. The style is modern, simple and romantic.
1973-2000
Danish decorative art producers start merging to strengthen their position in the face of international competition. The Royal Danish Porcelain Manufactory buys Georg Jensen Silversmiths and merges with Holmegaard Glassworks under the name Royal Copenhagen A/S. Bing & Grøndahl becomes part of the group in 1987, followed by Hans Hansen Silversmiths in 1991. Then Orrefors Kosta Boda and Boda Nova-Höganäs Ceramics of Sweden are taken over, as is the Venini glassworks in Venice. The businesses continue trading under the combined name of Royal Scandinavia A/S.
2000
Royal Copenhagen celebrates its 225th anniversary by launching a new service, Blue Fluted Mega, the creation of young design student Karen Kjældgård-Larsen, who takes the original Blue Fluted service as her inspiration. Blue Fluted Mega becomes Royal Copenhagen’s top-selling service of recent times.
2007
Georg Jensen and Royal Copenhagen become two independent businesses again, but with the same owners. Royal Copenhagen has been through a period of revitalisation, which has left the business healthy and profitable, as well as giving it the resources to continue producing design classics of the finest craftsmanship.
The new factory
Royal Copenhagen’s headquarters and factory are located at the same address in Glostrup in Denmark, about twenty minutes from the centre of Copenhagen. The new factory was opened on 17 September 2004 by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in the presence of 700 distinguished guests. The festivities marked the end of a long process of strategic and practical work.
At the turn of the millennium some strategic decisions had to be made about porcelain production in Denmark. It soon became obvious that in future more outsourcing would be necessary, in close interaction with smaller but more effective home production. Subsequently, a new production layout was designed and the new production philosophy was drawn up. The challenge was to find the right balance between efficient industrial manufacture and maintaining the high standards of craftsmanship and skill behind the company’s strong brand.
The solution adopted was based on lean production, which in very simple terms consists of:
Focus on creating value for the customer
Identifying the value stream and eliminating activities that do not create value
Making the value-creating activities flow effectively
The end-customers determines the production
Pursuing perfection through constant improvements
The factory is divided into the following six specialised departments:
Preparation for production (Raw materials warehouse, slip house, modelling, plaster workshop and laboratory)
Flatware (Rolling, painting, firing, glazing and kilns of Collector plates and dinner-service plates)
Cup Line (Producing cups only)
Hollow-ware (Moulded products such as dishes, jugs, bowls and small series of hand-thrown plates and cups)
Special (Complex products such as figurines, vases, Full Lace dinner-services and Flora Danica)
Overglaze (Painting workshop primarily but also firing, polishing and packaging)
During the first year in the new factory, productivity increased by 40%. It used to take 40 days to produce a cup, for instance, but it can now be done in three days.
The reorganization of the factory has proved quite a challenge for the employees, and it could never have been so successful without their positive attitude, training courses, hard work and a willingness to accept change that calls for deep respect for the company heritage.
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