Herend China

Founded in 1826, the Herend Porcelain Manufactory specializes in luxury hand painted and gilded porcelain in Hungary. The factory was founded by Vince Stingl, who had carried out research experiments on porcelain making at a time when the process was still shrouded in mystery and secrets.

By 1839, the factory had a new owner, Mór Fischer, who had ambitious and artistic goals for the manufactory. As a result, Herend china was featured in important shows such as The First Hungarian Applied Art Exhibition, the Vienna Exhibition of 1845, and Paris's Exposition Universelle of 1855.

Hard-paste porcelain is used for Herend products, involving a mixture of kaolin, feldspar, and quartz. The pieces are fired at 830 degrees Celsius after decorating and drying, then covered in glaze and fired again at 1410 degrees Celsius. It is then ready for hand painting. The most well-known Herend pattern featured Chinese-style butterflies and flower branches and was presented at the London World Exhibition in 1851. This pattern was named Viktória after England's Queen Victoria ordered a dinner set with this pattern for Windsor Castle.

Quick Facts

• There is a Porcelain Museum of Herend in Hungary which explains the history of Herend porcelain as well the process of creating it
• The names of many popular patterns are references to their first customers (Queen Victoria, Rothschild, and Apponyi, to name a few)
• The Ferend factory is very conscientious about observing traditions in the making of its products, so its quality has remained consistent for centuries