Porcelain from Hungary – Buy Herend dinnerware online
Good things stay good: Hungarian porcelain manufacturer Herend has been creating hand-painted porcelain with exceptional craftsmanship since 1826. The manufactory's classic patterns are continuous developments of famous tableware collections that were created for European royalty in the 19th century. The Hungarian porcelain delights with graceful lightness and delicate paintings with seamlessly integrated gildings.
As the oldest and largest porcelain manufactory in Hungary, Herend is one of the most important porcelain manufactories in all of Europe. The manufactory is a bastion of the old art of porcelain painting: Its porcelain artists still paint each piece by hand. Their high art elevates plain white plates, bowls and cups to rare treasure items.
Discover the splendour of Europe's most noble houses with Herend's porcelain masterpieces.
In loving detail – Hand-painted dinnerware by Herend
Herend produces traditional European hard porcelain. The recipe is simple, the work is hard: In countless steps, porcelain clay, feldspar and quartz sand are transformed into snow-white, translucent porcelain. After mixing the porcelain paste, it is shaped, polished, fired, glazed and fired a second time. Only now is the canvas ready for painting.
Herend's porcelain painters are true masters of their craft. Following historical templates, they paint all patterns and motifs onto the porcelain purely by hand. Their colour palette consists of hundreds of colours which they apply with fine squirrel hair paint brushes.
Even the smallest elements are painted by hand. Each motif is a work of art with precise contours, fine colour gradients, delicate shadows and subtle textures. After gilding with pure gold, another firing follows. Countless hours of work pass before a single piece is finished.
The porcelain tableware of European dynasties
The small town of Herend is located near Lake Balaton in Hungary. Here, the ceramist Vinzenz Stingl founded the "Herendi Porcelánmanufaktúra" in 1826. In its early days, the manufactory created replacement pieces for old European and Far Eastern dinnerware sets for the Hungarian and European nobility.
In 1851, the Herend porcelain manufactory took part in the Great Exhibition, the first World's Fair in London. Its fine china painted with butterflies and flowering branches won the Grand Jury Prize. The manufactory achieved world fame overnight.
Queen Victoria herself ordered a complete set of the prize-winning dinner service, so Herend named it "Victoria" in her honour. Within a few years, the porcelain collections by Herend became international bestsellers.
Many famous clients followed. Emperor Franz Joseph I gifted the "Gödöllo" porcelain service to his wife "Sisi", Empress Elisabeth of Austria; the Rothschild family fell in love with a collection adorned with romantic bird motifs. Since then, generations of painters have expanded on the original designs with countless variations.
The fascination for Herend porcelain remains unbroken to this day. Since 2001, the manufactory has been officially listed as a Hungarian cultural heritage site. Herend's master painters take part in international exhibitions. Specialist shops in Singapore, Berlin and Munich showcase their unique works.
Old and new Herend porcelain collections
Old roots, new branches: The Herend manufactory continues to produce its most popular dinnerware designs from the 19th century. Over the decades, the porcelain painters have created ever new variations on the historical patterns. With their unique skills, the artists also create new patterns that win prizes at major design exhibitions.
The Rothschild Bird dinner service was created in 1860 for the famous Rothschild family. Colourful insects and songbirds frolic on delicate green twigs and branches. Gold chains hanging in the branches refer to the wealth of the Rothschild family. Rothschild Bird is the ideal fine china for a romantic table setting.
The Polka dinnerware collection is a modern creation by the artists at Herend. Traditional Chinoiserie motifs like koi carps and fish scales glow in noble Frisian blue on the brilliant white porcelain. The refinement of the simple shapes unfolds in the elegant curves of the plates and bowls.
The house's great classic is the legendary "Victoria" dinner service from 1851, reinterpreted in its modern variant Royal Garden. Fanciful butterflies fly over flowering branches on the ornamented plates, cups and bowls. Delicate gold elements blend seamlessly into the harmonious colour composition of yellow, violet and green. Royal Garden is the perfect dinnerware set to experience the magic of the hand-painted porcelain creations of the Herend Porcelain Manufactory.
