Frankenthal
Frankenthal, Palatinate (now Bavaria), Germany · Porcelain · also recorded as Hannong, Carl Theodor
Marks
Plate I
1755–1761
A lion rampant · marked in blue · engraved in the sourceChaffers 1891, p.487The early mark under Hannong. Chaffers identifies the beast precisely — it is the crest of the Palatinate, not a generic heraldic lion — and gives the range 1755–61, which ends exactly where Carl Theodor's purchase begins.
Plate II
from 1759
JAH in monogram · painted monogram · engraved in the sourceChaffers 1891, p.487Joseph Adam Hannong, who took over from his father in June 1759. Chaffers says it is often found WITH the lion, so the two marks together are not a contradiction.
Plate III
from 1761
CT interlaced beneath the Electoral crown · painted · engraved in the sourceRecorded on a vase and cover with a mythological subject in the South Kensington Museum, which carries both this and the preceding Hannong mark.Chaffers 1891, p.487
The second period, when the works became a Government establishment under Carl Theodor. The South Kensington vase carrying both marks is the evidence that the transition overlapped rather than being clean.
Plate IV
Recorded impressed on the back of the 1775 chronogram plate alongside the painted monogram. Chaffers does not say what the number signifies.
What the source records
- Established in 1754 as a porcelain manufactory by Paul Hannong, making hard paste.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- Having discovered the secret of hard porcelain, Hannong offered it to the Royal Manufactory at Sèvres; they could not agree on price, the offer was declined, and Chaffers writes that they then commenced persecuting him.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- A decree of 1754 prohibited the manufacture of translucid ware in France except at Sèvres, compelling Hannong to carry his secret to Frankenthal and leave his Strasbourg fayence works in the charge of his sons.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- Ringler, who had quitted Höchst in disgust after his secret was divulged, became director.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- On the marriage of his eldest son Joseph Adam Hannong in June 1759, Paul Hannong gave up all his interest in the Frankenthal fabrique to him for a pecuniary consideration.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- Paul Hannong died at Strasbourg on 31 May 1760, aged 60.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- In 1761 the works were purchased by the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor and attained great celebrity under his patronage.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- The manufactory was maintained until Carl Theodor became Elector of Bavaria in 1798, after which it greatly declined; all stock and utensils were sold in 1800 and removed to Greinstadt.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
- A chronogram on a porcelain plate denotes the year 1775; the plate carries Carl Theodor's initials interlaced and crowned within a gold star of flaming rays, and on the back the usual monogram in blue with 'N. 2.' impressed.Chaffers 1891 · p.487
Why this differs from other listings
Frankenthal exists because Sèvres refused to buy Hannong's secret and then had translucid ware banned everywhere else in France. Chaffers gives that whole causal chain, and the marks track it: the Palatinate lion for 1755–61, the son's monogram from 1759, and Carl Theodor's crowned initials from the 1761 purchase. The marks are a political timeline, and dating a piece means knowing which regime it was made under.
The source page
What this entry does not establish
- Chaffers records 'N. 2.' impressed without explaining it; no meaning is asserted here.
- The lion range 1755–61 is the source's; it does not follow that every lion-marked piece falls inside it.
- This entry covers page 487 only. Frankenthal continues on the following page, which is not transcribed.