Scandal at the Albrechtsburg: The Hoym–Lemaire affair and its impact on the early 18th-century development of pigment technology at the Meissen Manufactory

Abstract

We present portable X-ray fluorescence data on the composition of body, glaze and enamels of several Meissen porcelain objects associated with the Hoym–Lemaire Affair (1728–1731). In 1728, the French merchant Rodolphe Lemaire convinced the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory into making copies of Japanese Kakiemon porcelain for sale as originals in Paris, a dubious enterprise that depended on the development of additional pigments closely emulating the Kakiemon palette. We shall illustrate how the color formulations for these objects, designed to imitate Japanese porcelain, differ from those on earlier porcelain from 1723–24, as well as later (mid-18th century) objects. In all cases, the colorant chemistry can be related to special recipes introduced by Johann Gregorius Höroldt specifically for this purpose and preserved in the Meissen archives. A surprising observation is the absence of antimony or tin in the yellow colorant. As an ancillary finding, we have confirmed analytically for the first time that unmarked, undecorated Meissen porcelain in storage since prior to 1725 was decorated around 1730 and became part of the Hoym–Lemaire shipment.