8 minute read
Beautiful things of enduring worth
Manu factum – made by hand. The meaning of the Latin word, manufactory, contains this important assurance: When something is created by the skillful hands of an artisan, it exists in this particular form only once. So every product is unique. As individual as its maker. And as its recipient, into whose safe hands it passes.
What does the word handwork mean today? In an age when machines can do practically everything. And one where the work of humans is often limited to programming these machines.
Advertisement
At a time when the term “artificial intelligence” is a source of not only fascination and promise, but also fear.
Isn’t it precisely the human element that so fascinates us in products made by hand? People making beautiful things for other people – a wonderful cycle that goes full circle. When such work is valued this creates a deep sense of satisfaction, and also a feeling of exhilaration when one is lucky enough to acquire something unique.
We look within ourselves to find strength and reflect on what truly matters. And it is for this very reason that the work of a manufactory is still relevant today. More relevant indeed than ever.
SHAPED BY A RICH HISTORY: MANUFACTORIES IN SAXONY
Manufactories have shaped the face of the economy of Saxony for hundreds of years. Handwork has thrived here ever since the time when rich silver deposits were discovered in the Erzgebirge more than 850 years ago. Silver stimulated not only the processing of ore and the lumber industry, the manufacture of glass in Saxony is also closely bound up with mining. Place names such as Glashütte are living proof of this past history. Today, the name Glashütte is associated with the finest world-class watches. This one small town in Saxony is home to ten manufactories all striving to attain the highest degree of perfection in watchmaking.
The precious metals dug by the miners from the depths of the mountains in the Erzgebirge found in Dresden, the seat of the Electors of Saxony, enthusiastic purchasers and art-lovers with a penchant for beautiful things. Pewterers and silversmiths created works of art that can be admired in the Dresden State Art Collection to this day. However, the great dream of the Kings of Saxony was always the manufacture of gold. It was in the pursuit of this vision that Johann Friedrich Böttger achieved a great stroke of luck at the beginning of the 18th century when he discovered white gold, otherwise known as porcelain. Now Elector Augustus the Strong could adorn his royal table with plates, bowls and jugs delicately painted with patterns and artistic designs. This tradition is maintained with artistry and finesse to this day at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen).
Musical instruments from the Vogtland region of Saxony are also world famous. The region around Klingenthal and Markneukirchen is known as the “Musikwinkel”. Here, more than 100 traditional manufactories produce handmade violins, trumpets, guitars and almost the entire range of orchestral instruments. Musicians all over the world value the fine timbre and excellent tone of these instruments, produced by the master craftsmen of Saxony.
Whether it is watches or porcelain, high-quality musical instruments or fine wooden artefacts like the figurines from Wendt & Kühn, the excellence of Saxon craftsmanship can still be seen today in the products that leave the manufactories. What all these products have in common is a long history, premium quality, the dedication of their creators, and an absolute commitment to creating beautiful products of real value and enduring worth.
THOMAS ROST HEAD OF SALES AND MARKETING, WENDT & KÜHN
THE VALUE OF HANDWORK
Small is beautiful, quality not quantity – these two maxims are the guiding principles at Wendt & Kühn, where the fine German handwork of its skilled employees has been producing premium quality products since 1915. With close attention to detail, an infallible instinct for all that is beautiful, and inspired by a desire to bring joy with every artefact, large or small. For the recipient who will touch it with their hands. Who will stroke it, turn it this way and that,
examine it and take it in. Who will experience it with all their senses. The eyes recognize its graceful form, its artistic lines, its aesthetic composition. The nose takes in the smell of the wood, the fresh paint, the delicate scent of something new that will also grow old with us. The ears hear the stories the figurine has to tell. Stories of their creation and of the history of the manufactory where they first saw the light of day. The history of the designers who many decades ago poured all their creativity into creating these figurines of timeless beauty. Stories of the craftsmen and women who have employed their hands to shape their distinctive contours from an unremarkable piece of wood. Stories from the past and stories from the present – inextricably linked through handwork.
LIVING CRAFTSMANSHIP
In our workshops we therefore not only maintain traditions, we preserve experience and hold to intangible values. For what is important is not that our figurines are made here, but how they are made. In our manufactory handwork has the highest status – this is something that has not changed since the very beginning. To this day we still mostly work in just the same way as the founders of Wendt & Kühn 106 years ago. The wood turner uses a chisel to shape the components out of wood. With sensitive fingers the gluers join the delicate individual components together to form graceful figurines. In the dipping shop, the raw figurines are given their first coat of primer, professionally dipped, turned and spun by people who have a precise feeling for just how much primer is needed for the subsequent coats of paint to cover well and for every colour to reveal its true beauty. The figurine is sanded many times between the coats of primer to smooth down the fibers in the wood. Finally, the paint shop is where the full extent of our masterful handwork is revealed. Even the mixing of the paint is done by hand, not machine, as it has been for more than 100 years. You will not find the colours that Grete and Olly Wendt used to paint their figurines in any catalogue. You have to mix them yourself and keep comparing them with the original sample until the paint colour matches perfectly. A skill that is passed down from generation to generation. The final painting demonstrates our handwork at its very best – from the colour scheme of the clothes and accessories to their decoration with fine patterns and ornamentation, and finally on to the absolute high point – the painting of the face. Eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth – as with human beings, they each have their individual traits. Every figurine is slightly different, with their own personality – just like their creator. And this is what people all over the world find so fascinating about our products, they are all a little bit like ourselves. Unique, individual and with their own character.
THE VOGTLAND REGION AROUND MARKNEUKIRCHEN, KNOWN AS THE “MUSIKWINKEL” AND TODAY “MUSICON VALLEY”, is home to small and mediumsized master craftsmen who still maintain the tradition of producing world-renowned hand crafted musical instruments.
AN EXCELLENT COLLABORATION
When the finest craftsmanship of Wendt & Kühn is combined with the sophistication of the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, the result is something very special. What both manufactories have in common is masterly craftsmanship, uncompromising quality and a focus on their own extensive grand design legacies. A love of floral motifs is also deeply rooted in the history of both companies. Grete Wendt, founder of Wendt & Kühn, embraced the subject of flowers in her legendary range of Blossom Kinder. In the Porcelain Manufactory, the “Meissen Blumentafel” testifies to the great importance of flower painting. This historic document shows 36 different flowers depicted with great artistry and which serves as a template for today’s painters.
Both manufactories are applying their skills to the marsh marigold, selected to mark the start of our collaboration. Using a fine paintbrush, the Meissen artists are painting it on an elegant porcelain dish with a gold rim. The challenge for the Grünhainichen artisans is to accurately
THOUSANDS OF PAINT FORMULAS remain a closely guarded secret at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. In this way, every shade of porcelain paint that has been passed down still remains true to the original. Thanks to the unique craftsmanship preserved to this day we can enjoy opulent compositions and delicate flowers like the marsh marigold.
translate the Meissen drawing into a figurine. A highly challenging task, as its form and colour ultimately have to do justice to the porcelain template. The result is a girl sitting on a mound with the delicate bloom of a marsh marigold. The flower is painted entirely with translucent paint. For the petals, the leaves and the mound of the meadow, several coats of the base colour are used to create different shades, thus creating brushstroke by brushstroke a natural three-dimensional look. Fine lines inside the petals and the delicate structure of the leaves bring vitality to the composition, as does the soft movement of the wafer-thin leaves. The girl in her light spring dress rests contentedly on the grass mound, enchanting us as she plays a soft tune on her trumpet. A delicate, highly-detailed composition presented alongside a fine porcelain dish bearing the same floral motif.
COMPANIONS FOR LIFE
Objects that have been lovingly and artistically produced by hand are something to treasure forever. They accompany their owners throughout their lives, becoming more and more valuable. In this way they provide a refreshing alternative to the global throwaway society in which everything appears to be exchangeable or replaceable at will. Values such as longevity, quality, tradition – all these are embodied in the figurines from Wendt & Kühn. Sustainability at its best, a word that is once again on everyone’s lips. Firmly rooted in more than 100 years of history, we are creating the future, developing with care our unique grand design legacy and forging new paths. Inspired by the wishes of our customers and the aesthetic beliefs of our founder Grete Wendt and her long-term fellow designer Olly Wendt, née Sommer. This is how an inheritance becomes a legacy. Every day anew.
DEXTERITY AND PATIENCE are required for every task in the Grünhainichen workshops. In the gluing shop the individual turned components are assembled with the greatest care. You can already guess which figurine this is.
