Victoria is the name of the leading porcelain producing company of Austria. Find out about the origins and products of this highly regarded company.
Austria is known for its amazing works in porcelain. The particular brand that is associated with almost all the porcelain products of Austria is Victoria. It was founded a long time ago in 1883 by a company called Lazarus and Rosenfeld ltd.
In the initial years the factory was located in Altrouhlau which is an area in Bohemia Austria. After an initial run of two years the factory was sold to a man called Franz Schmidt. It was under his ownership that the Vitoria factor became the largest porcelain producing factory of its times.
The Victoria Company was into producing commercial products. The public did not attach much artistic value to the porcelain products in those times. In terms of quality however the company stood unparalleled. This is one of the reasons that their products have managed to stay in tact even till today. The ownership of Victoria Company’s porcelain products is considered as a matter of honor today and is considered to have immense artistic merit.
The company was also involved in the production of ceramic products known as porcelite. At the time it was considered to be a lower quality porcelain product but today it is again a collector’s item like the rest of the products from the company.
The communist take over of Austria saw the merging of the Victoria Porcelain Company along with the Altrohlau Porcelain Company to EPIAG. Now it became part of the state owned porcelain industry and functioned at a much larger scale.
Extensive research has been conducted on the different marks used by the Austrian Porcelain Company on their products. The search results show that the company used thirteen different marks during the course of its history. Eleven out of the thirteen had the word Victoria incorporated in the mark. People have set up websites related to the different marks that the company has used. These websites serve as a great reference point to get information on the different marks used by the company over time.
The design and form
The porcelain products from Victoria are distinct and can be identified at once. In terms of form and design they were extremely delicate. The exteriors of these porcelain products were decorated using different inspirations. Elegant scenes of Romanesque women were a common feature on their products. Motifs of delicate flowers and feminine lines and shapes also characterized the Victoria products. Mythological characters would also often be seen on their products.
Particularly interesting was the company’s use of color. They made use of extremely rich colors to bring their products to life. The different decorative items also consisted of edges and trims which were painted with gold gilt.
There are many different products from Victoria Porcelain Company available in the market today. There are however many fake counterparts to the original antique items that must be differentiated between. The original Victoria porcelain products are truly something to be treasured.
