Rörstrand Faience

Rörstrand faience, first faience (tin-glazed earthenware) produced in Sweden, at the Rörstrand factory established in 1725 by a Dane, Johann Wolff, near Stockholm. Cristoph Konrad Hunger, an arcanist from Meissen and Vienna, became the manager of the factory in 1729.

Rörstrand faience was either decorated in blue camaïeu (monochrome) or imitated Italian bianco sopra bianco (“white on white”), sometimes with touches of manganese or purple. It was only when Johann Buchwald, who had worked at Höchst as well as Fulda, joined Rörstrand in 1757 that polychromed decoration was introduced (in 1758), to meet the competition from a rival Swedish faience factory at Marieberg. Famille rose designs were then produced as well as flower painting and some work in emulation of Marieberg, which itself was bought finally by Rörstrand in 1782. Anders Stenman, a workman from Rörstrand, is alleged to have discovered transfer printing around 1766 and introduced it to Marieberg.