Arcanum: The Extraordinary True Story of the Invention of European Porcelain

Physical description: xii, 272 pages. ; 21 cm. Notes: Maps on endpapers. Bibliography: p. 263-166. Summary: An epic tale of power struggles, rapacious potentates and venerated alchemists, this novel recounts the incredible life story of the man who discovered the magic formula of the art of porcelain making, and the huge impact it had on the Western world at the time. Review: Chinese porcelain was much admired and collected in 17th-century Europe, and the secret of its manufacture was as eagerly sought after as the secret of turning base metal into gold, and often attempted by the same men. King Augustus of Saxony was the keenest of all seekers after the arcanum, or secret recipe; and this book narrates in great detail the involved and often dark events that eventually led to the discovery of the recipe, and the establishment of European porcelain factories, in particular at Meissen. Beauty and worth combined to make porcelain so potent a force that conspiracy, imprisonment, bribery, murder and suicide attended its history. The biography of Johann Friedrich Bottger, the imprisoned alchemist worked to death because of his claim of discovering the formula, is a book in itself, and he is only one of an extraordinary cast of enthusiastic, often misled characters in a story which is eagerly and racily told. (Kirkus UK) Subjects: Böttger, Johann Friedrich 1682-1719. Herold, Johann Gregor. Kaendler, Johann Joachim 1706-1775. Porcelain - 18th century - Europe - History - Design and construction - Manufacture. TRUE STORIES ; Handicrafts ; Modelling (in clay, wax & other plastic materials). Genre: Illustrated.