Flora Danica Dinnerware
One of the oldest, and perhaps most prestigious dinnerware sets in the world is the Flora Danica set ordered in the late 18th century by Crown Prince Frederick (later King Frederick IV) as a gift to Russian Empress Catherine II the Great.
The design source for the dinnerware was the Flora Danica folio of all wild flora to be found in Denmark, begun in 1761 by George Christian Oeder, director of the botanical gardens in Copenhagen. The publication ultimately took more than 100 years to complete and included 3,600 hand-colored copperplate engravings.
In 1790 the folio was transfered from the Royal Library to the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain factory so that work could begin on the dinnerware set. Comprising 1,802 individual pieces, the set’s magnificate decoration was the life masterpiece of Johann Christian Boyer. He personally decorated all but 158 pieces of the set before his eyesight failed in 1799. Christian Nicolai Faxoc painted, gilded and ornamented the additional pieces before the project ended in 1802. By this time Catherine had died and the finished set remained with the Danish Royal Family. Of the 1,802 pieces delieved to the Royals in 1803, 1,530 survive today at the Rosenberg Castle in Denmark and selected pieces are still used at the Royal Table during state dinners.
The next set of Flora Danica was begun in 1863 as a wedding present for the Danish Princess Alexandria who was betrothed to Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII of England). In contrast to the earlier set, only the prettiest flowers from the Flora Danica were selected and fewer ferns and herbs were used, a total of 700 varities being depicted on the new set. Brighter colors were also employed to suit Victorian tastes. This set remains today in Windsor Castle and Flora Danica porcelain continues to be produced from that time to the present.
Flora Danica can be a fragile and delicate service to use as it features numerous serrated edges and hand-carvings. The serrated edges are executed by hand on the soft wet porcelain body prior to firing, as are the hand-molded flower bouquets on lids, covers and handles which are created leaf by leaf, petal by petal. The flower stamens are so small they are applied with the point of a needle. A garland of “pearls” edge each piece and are created from tiny balls of clay laid along the border in relief and later gilded. Following firing (at 1430 degrees C), each pieced is painstakingly hand-painted, the dinner plates alone each require 12,000 individual brush strokes. During this process each piece can be fired up to six more times as different colors require different firing temperatures. Once this process is complete the gilders take over and the Latin name for the piece’s flora is inscribed. Finally the gilding is carefully polished with agate to give it the splendor of pure gold.
To learn more about Flora Danica, visit http://www.royalcopenhagen.com/.