Capodimonte Porcelain Floral Sculpture History

The very word Capodimonte evokes passionate admiration in the world's museums and among private collectors. What is Capodimonte? Original Capodimonte porcelains were created by the Royal Manufactory of Porcelain of King Charles VII of Naples. The King erected his factory in 1743 on the grounds of his palace, which stood on a hill overlooking Naples. The name he chose for his porcelain was Capodimonte, which means simply "top of the mountain."

The Capodimonte name has been synonymous with the finest quality Neapolitan porcelain and ceramics from that period onward. The first pieces fired by this company were produced in Naples, Italy from 1745 to 1780 at the Royal Factory,

The Royal Factory, which no longer exists, came to being when King Charles of Naples married Maria Amalia. She was the granddaughter of Augustus II, who in addition to being the King of Poland, also founded the first European hard paste porcelain factory in Meissen, Germany. The formula and process for all European porcelain originally came from Augustus' factory where Augustus' alchemist, Johann Bottger, first discovered how to reproduce the beautifully translucent ceramic from China called porcelain in 1708.

King Charles developed a curiosity about porcelain through his new wifeâs family. This interest turned into a passion that led to many years of research and development before the Royal Factory came about. Working from the original Meissen formula, the formula for Capodimonte porcelain paste was perfected.

Once the formula for porcelain paste was perfected, many skilled craftsmen and artisans, both men and women, worked to produce fine Capodimonte pieces. Plates, flowers, vases, small and large bowls, tea and coffee cups, large and small jugs, sugar bowls, tea caddies, teapots, snuff-boxes, and walking stick handles mounted in gold are among the fine pieces produced at the factory in Italy.

The factory eventually moved to Spain and back to Italy again several decades later under the direction of King Charlesâ son, Ferdinand. During this period, the shape, style and decoration of the porcelain production was similar to that of the original Capodimonte factory.

Porcelain was made there for less than a century.. Although quite a variety of pieces were made including elaborate figurines and vases, the floral arrangements are perhaps the best known and most enduring concept of what Capodimonte has always embodied. This is perhaps due to tradition that holds that Charles was allergic to the flowers in the palace's gardens, and that he had exquisitely fashioned roses and other blossoms created so that he could enjoy perfect porcelain blossoms without suffering the discomforts of sneezing and watery eyes.

In the early nineteenth century, years after the original factory no longer existed the Capodimonte crown began appearing on porcelains from Naples and elsewhere. It continues to this day and the very finest porcelains in the world bear the Capodimonte mark . Master sculptor Geatano "Nino" Galoppo has attempted to recreate this excellence in his one of a kind porcelain floral arrangements . All of the flowers and leaves are individually formed by hand and assembled into these exquisite arrangements.