The Chursächsische Spiegelfabrik at Friedrichsthal in the Electorate of Saxony: Rediscovery of a Forgotten Glass Factory and its Products

Abstract

This article aims to rescue from oblivion one of the most important German glass factories of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries: the Chursächsische Spiegelfabrik or Mirror Factory of the Electorate of Saxony, founded by the Elector at Friedrichsthal, north of Dresden, in 1709. Using new research results it traces the history of the factory and analyses the factors that led to its heyday from 1787, when, as well as mirrors, it started producing plain and coloured glass objects for the table and interior decoration, such as fruit bowls, candelabra, jugs, and so on, as well as lamps and chandeliers. Its international success culminated with the introduction of semi-opaque white bone glass in 1794, until production ceased in 1815.