"
"True porcelain," remarked Theo, who had profited by his lesson.
"Just so, son. Work in porcelain-making had been going on in Austria
since about 1717; but it had been done in a small way by private
individuals, who had only small capital to put into it, and who had
met with little success because the ware they had turned out had been
thick and muddy in appearance. In 1744 the Empress Maria Theresa
purchased these works, and from that time on they began to
prosper. You see, the monarchs of those days could make almost any
industry a success if they once set out to do so. Not only had they
the capital to back their undertaking but they could compel their
subjects to patronize the venture."
Theo laughed. "I see."
"Therefore by 1785 the Empress's china factory was a very busy place
which was supplying with porcelain not only Austria, but also
Turkey. In 1796 Lamprecht, one of the leading animal painters of the
monarchy, was decorating this ware with wonderful pictures of stags,
hounds, horses, in which work he excelled. But because of the
Mohammedan law that no copies of living creatures could be used for
designs the Turks refused to purchase these dishes.
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