7. Hand painting over the glaze

Items with overglaze decoration are recognisable by the wide range of colours and the richness of detail in the decoration. The technical term “overglaze” refers to the fact that the porcelain is decorated after it has been glaze-fired in the brightening kiln. Consequently the porcelain items must be fired once more at about 850°C after they are painted, to allow the paints to melt and fuse with the fired glaze. Immediately after firing the gold decorations look matt and dull. Their characteristic gold sheen appears only after vigorous polishing with glass brushes or sand.

The Flora Danica service is world famous as one of the most magnificent examples of the art of overglaze decoration. It has its own fascinating history, and is produced in a way that is unique to Royal Copenhagen.

Besides Flora Danica Royal Copenhagen also have a proud tradition in producing overglaze painted figurines.

Read more about Flora Danica and Figurines by browsing through our product catalogue.