Items related to The Arcanum: The Extraordinary True Story of the Invention...
Tells the story of how the West learned to make porcelain, focusing on Bottger, who discovered the arcanum, or secret formula; and Herold and Kandler, artists at the new Meissen Porcelain Manufacture
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Since the middle ages, Western Europeans have practised alchemy, a primitive form of chemistry, in the great hope of transforming base metal into gold. In the early 18th century, a second great secret puzzled Western Europe's early scientists: how to make porcelain. Recently arrived from the Orient, porcelain quickly became a symbol of power, prestige and good taste. In The Arcanum, Janet Gleeson presents an entertaining and informative account of the invention of European porcelain and the founding of the Meissen Porcelain Manufacture outside Dresden, Germany. Her narrative focuses on three individuals: alchemist Johann Frederick Böttger inadvertently discovered the arcanum, or secret formula, for making porcelain; Johan Gregor Herold, an ambitious artist, developed colours and patterns of unparalleled brilliance at the newly established Meissen Porcelain Manufacture; Johann Joachim Kaendler, a virtuoso sculptor, used the Meissen porcelain to invent a new art form. Interwoven with the story of Augustus the Strong, the greedy and ambitious king of the Kingdom of Saxony, who held Böttger captive until he discovered the formula, Gleeson's tale reads easily and maintains a high level of suspense and intrigue throughout. --Bertina Loeffler, Amazon.com
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"The number one bestseller"
"'Breathtaking...a story which has everything: greed, wars, revolution, financial chicanery, industrial sabotage, betrayal and bloodshed'" (Guardian)
"'The author's background research is as admirable as her storytelling...intended to be the next Longitude, and it deserves to be'" (Country Life)
"'Extremely readable...worthy of Dumas, a rich brew of jealousy, betrayal and industrial espionage...fascinating'" (Sunday Telegraph)
"'A remarkably exciting story, told with suitable panache'" (Independent on Sunday)
"'Breathtaking...a story which has everything: greed, wars, revolution, financial chicanery, industrial sabotage, betrayal and bloodshed'" (Guardian)
"'The author's background research is as admirable as her storytelling...intended to be the next Longitude, and it deserves to be'" (Country Life)
"'Extremely readable...worthy of Dumas, a rich brew of jealousy, betrayal and industrial espionage...fascinating'" (Sunday Telegraph)
"'A remarkably exciting story, told with suitable panache'" (Independent on Sunday)
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- PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 0446524999
- ISBN 13 9780446524995
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages324
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