Meissen porcelain or
Meissen china is the first European
hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by
Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October,
Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market. The production of porcelain at
Meissen, near
Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers, still in business today as
Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH. Its signature
logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the crossed swords is one of the oldest
trademarks in existence. It dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756.