by Tim Harry

Created on: June 20, 2009

Antique Capodimonte porcelain pieces are continuing to fetch the highest prices at auction, and yet most people will immediately think of 1960s lamps when the name is mentioned. This push to commercialism has unfortunately overshadowed a long and successful history that has seen many of the finest moulded figures produced in Italy.

The history of the production of Capodimonte porcelain is one which goes back to eighteenth century Naples. In 1734 Charles of Bourbon was crowned King of Naples and Sicily, and four years later he married the daughter of the King of Saxony, Maria Amalia. It was this marriage that started Charles's love affair with porcelain, because Maria Amalia was also the granddaughter of Augustus II the founder of the great Meissen porcelain factory.

Charles wanted a Naples factory that could rival Meissen in quality of porcelain produced, although he was faced with the issue that the secret of porcelain production was a secret limited to the Meissen chemist, Bottiger. Undaunted though he set up Giovanni Caselli and Livio Ottavio Schepers in a new factory that adjoined the Royal Palace of Capodimonte. Schepers though managed perfect a new method making use of new kaolin deposits found at Paola and Fuscaldo to manufacture soft porcelain paste. With the new technique in place the Capodimonte factory set about designing vases, teapots, snuff boxes and dining sets. The factory also managed to produce a room completely panelled in porcelain for the Queen of Naples. Little of the products though made it onto the open market, as Charles collected the finest pieces for his own collection.

The Capodimonte factory though was only a short term resident in Naples, as Charles ascended to the throne of Spain upon his father's death. Moving to Spain he took the products and the knowledge of Capodimonte porcelain with him. Thankfully though, Ferdinand, Charles' son had inherited his father's love of porcelain, as well as his title of King of Naples, and so with his father's permission returned the Capodimonte factory to Naples. Thus it was in 1772 the new range of porcelain started to be produced.

The new range continued where the old one had left off, although with the introduction of Domenico Venuti as director of the Capodimonte Royal Factory, that the finest pieces were produced. This included two world renowned clock cases, and dinner sets for Charles III of Spain and George III of England, although it was said that George was far more

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