Holland and Belgium, as I have told you, lack both clay and
fuel and therefore had not a fair chance to compete with the other
nations; but they did make some little porcelain. Sweden also turned
out a little. Denmark gave a real contribution to the world in its
Copenhagen ware, a type of white porcelain decorated beneath the glaze
in cobalt. The fabrique for making this china was opened as early as
1760 but it never paid, and in 1775 the Government took over the works
and it became a royal factory where women of rank and position joined
the artists in designing and decorating the porcelain. The
undertaking, however, proved so expensive that in 1876 the factories
went back into private hands. But the porcelain has become
world-famous and holds its place in the list of the distinctive chinas
of the art universe. Look up Royal Copenhagen some time, and see how
beautiful it is."
"I will," nodded Theo. "But in all this china-making did Russia do
nothing?"
"Russia made her try," Mr. Croyden said. "Peter the Great was an
ambitious ruler who traveled the Continent over to see what other
countries were doing in the way of commerce and manufacture.
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