C.J. Lemvigh-Müller and Ebba Lemvigh-Müller’s collection of prospect porcelain
(memorial porcelain)
Besides glass, the founder of the museum, factory owner J.C. Hempel also collected ceramics.
So it was with great gratitude that in 1989 the museum accepted a large collection of porcelain, decorated with landscapes and familiar buildings such as castles and manor houses or famous edifices or scenes from cities. This type of decoration is called prospects, hence the name prospect porcelain.
The prospect porcelain was mainly manufactured in the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory and had its golden age from the 1820’es till about 1880. Here a small group of landscape and porcelain painters were working with the motifs which were drawn on tours around the country and later transferred as miniature paintings to the porcelain.
The prospect porcelain became very popular when King Frederik VI, inspired by French porcelain, ordered a service with landscape motifs and well-known buildings for his youngest daughter Vilhelmine’s wedding in 1828 to the later King Frederik VII. The service was exhibited at the Royal Porcelain Factory before the delivery and became a total hit at that time in Copenhagen. The royal orders for dessert services, coffee and tea sets, magnificent vases and much more came into fashion, and the nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie followed suit.
Glass with engraved or etched motifs
The incipient tourism in the 18th century had given inspiration to a production of glass and porcelain with motifs from popular travel destinations in Europe, called souvenirs (memories). Glasses with engraved or etched motifs were created for large European tourist destinations or in connection with special events in the 19th century. The decoration was a result of cutting, engraving and painting and was often of high handicraft quality. The production of this type of souvenirs began in the health resort Warmbrunn in Silesia before the middle of the 18th century.