The history, and the decorative talents, of Helena Wolfsohn are intertwined with the world famous Dresden porcelain. From about 1843 until 1883, Helena Wolfsohn, the woman, as well as the studio baring her name, was a respected decorator of porcelain blanks obtained from a myriad of different porcelain companies. Helena Wolfsohn was most famous for the decorative porcelain pieces she turned out in the distinctive Rocco fashion. The Rocco revival ushered in a era of highly ornate porcelain pieces that featured brightly colored flowers, shells, and foliage.
Like many of the other highly skilled decorators in the Dresden area of Germany during that era, Helena Wolfsohn painted in the Dresden, or Meissen, style of decorating porcelain. Other famous decorators of that time period include Karl Richard Klemm, Carl Thieme, and Donath and Co. Each of these decorators used the same Dresden mark while altering it slightly in order to designate the different decorators. The Dresden mark's primary feature was a stunning crown in blue.
Helena Wolfsohn used the letter D written in script along with the blue Dresden crown as her mark. Her business was turned over to W.E. Stephan and Leopold Elb in 1878. By 1879, the new owners of the Helena Wolfsohn porcelain decorating studio began using a copied Augustus Rex mark that was signified by the letters AR. This mark had been previously registered by the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, also known simply as KPM.
|
|
|
When KPM learned that the Helena Wolfsohn porcelain decorating studio was using its registered marks, the company sought a court injunction to stop the practice. The KPM studio was victorious before the courts and the Helena Wolfsohn porcelain decorating studio was ordered to cease using such a mark. Rather than doing so, however, the new owners simply changed a small detail here or there in an effort to evade the decision of the court.
By 1883, however, the court had decided that not only must the Helena Wolfsohn porcelain decorating studio refrain from using the AR mark, the studio must also pay the KPM studio for its previous use of the mark. This decision proved to be disastrous financially for the company. It effectively ruined the business of Helena Wolfsohn. As a result, the Helena Wolfsohn porcelain decorating studio ceased decorating porcelain in 1883.
If you have items like these for sale, you may advertise them on this page.
If you know additional helpful facts on this subject, contact us!
Go back to Glossary Main Page.
|
