Its actual origins, however, lie in three private enterprises which, under crown patronage, were trying to establish the production of "white gold" (i.e. porcelain) in Berlin from the mid-18th century onwards.

[2] Furthermore, Frederick II of Prussia granted him exemption from duties for the import of essential materials and assured him of the exclusion of all competition.

Wegely hired craftsmen from his competitors, and appointed the porcelain sculptor Ernst Heinrich Reichard to the post of chief modeller.

[3] Gotzkowsky concluded an agreement with Wegely's chief modeller, Ernst Heinrich Reichard, who was in possession of the secret formula known as the arcanum.

Since the royal exchequer was in the red on account of the war, Gotzkowsky believed that he stood little or no chance of obtaining assistance from the king.

Today, the porcelain pieces from the early days marked with a W for Wegely und a G for Gotzkowsky are rare and collector's items.

There was no child labour, there were regular working hours, above-average incomes, secure pensions, a healthcare fund and assistance for widows and orphans.

For his palaces alone, he ordered 21 dinner services, each of them with 36 place settings and up to 500 separate parts, complemented by elaborate table centrepieces.

The factory was mainly known in this period for dinner services, with a fine white porcelain body with "a faint yellowish, slightly grey tinge".

The following years saw the appearance of the Neuzierat, Neuglatt, Neuosier and Antique Zierat (later named Rocaille) dinner services, which are still produced today.

Towards the end of the century Neoclassical designs were introduced, beginning another enduring feature of the factory; this began in the 1770s, so preceding Frederick the Great's death in 1786, despite his own preference for Rococo styles.

It bears the name of its commissioner, Peter von Biron, Duke of Kurland, one of the richest and most refined men of his time.

Leading German artists of the time, like Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Johann Gottfried Schadow and his pupil Christian Daniel Rauch designed vases and sculptures for KPM.

From the start of the 19th century the factory developed a new market among the expanding bourgeoisie, selling highly decorated "cabinet cups" (with saucers) either singly or in pairs.

Under the leadership of Georg Friedrich Christoph Frick, the manufactory's managing director from 1832, Freydanck designed a series of works depicting beautiful cityscapes of Berlin and Potsdam.

The institute's director, Hermann Seger, produced innovations that substantially increased KPM's proficiency in designing moulds and working with colours.

Among his inventions, Seger developed new kinds of porcelain underglaze colours, as can be seen on the wall plate showing a view of Berlin Cathedral.

His successor, Theodor Schmuz-Baudiss, artistic director as of 1908, promoted the use of Seger's glazes, and thus brought KPM fame and admiration at international art exhibitions.

The sculptor, Adolf Amberg, created the design of centerpiece consisting of several figurines made of silver, in honour of the wedding of Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Under the new director, Günther von Pechmann, the ideas of Deutscher Werkbund and Bauhaus influenced the craftsmen of KPM Berlin from 1929 onwards.

Famous designs of this time encompass Trude Petri's dinner service URBINO, and Marguerite Friedlaender's Halle vases, created in cooperation with Burg Giebichenstein Art School.

In the 1930s, the assumption of power by the National Socialists had serious consequences for many of KPM's artists: Marguerite Friedlaender was forced to emigrate because of her Jewish background.

In 1941, the art teacher, painter and writer Gerhard Gollwitzer, who had been dismissed from his teaching position, became artistic director of KPM.

After World War II, KPM moved into temporary quarters in Selb, Upper Franconia, where there had once been plans to enlarge the company.

After the triumphant success of a vase collection launched in 1994, KPM presented the BERLIN dinner service, created in cooperation with the Italian modernist designer Enzo Mari.

When Frederick the Great took over the manufactory from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky on 19 September 1763, he also provided the brand's emblem: the cobalt blue sceptre from the electoral coat-of-arms of Brandenburg.

Among the table services currently in production, there are three Rococo forms (ROCAILLE, NEUZIERAT and NEUOSIER), which originally were commissioned by Frederick the Great for his various palaces, and there are designs from the Classic, Art Nouveau and Bauhaus periods as well as from the present: Under the auspices of the KPM workshop, porcelain figurines of many different styles have been created in the last 250 years.

Inspired by basic geometric shapes like ellipse and cone ceramic artist Friedlaender created seven harmoniously proportioned vases.