The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida owns one of the finest and most comprehensive Meissen collections in the world, outside those of the Porzellansammlung, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden and the Arnhold Collection in New York. Donated to the Museum by Ralph H. and Constance I. Wark in 1965, it features nearly 700 pieces of Meissen porcelain, including rare pieces from the earliest years of the royal factory, established in 1710. Author Ulrich Pietsch uses the fascinating history of the foundation of the Meissen factory in order to set the background for his essay on Wark's collection, and the surprising story of how it survived the Second World War in a Hamburg cellar before being shipped to America. The catalogue features notable examples by the leading sculptors and painters of early Meissen production including Bottger, Johann Joachim Kandler, and Johann Gregor Horoldt.
