Porcelain Sugar Bowl By Carl Thielsch, Altwasser, C. 1860, In The Antique Style

Important covered porcelain pot by the C. THIELSCH & Co factory. Baluster-shaped, it is decorated with a Greek frieze on a red background reminiscent of the earth of ancient Greek vases, punctuated with gold fillets and friezes. It has two handles on either side with cabochon motifs in high relief on a black varnish background, also enhanced with gold.

Condition report
Some sign of time but good condition. No damage to the porcelain.
The piece does not bear any mark but belongs to a larger set of which we hold two pieces, bearing the C. THIELSCH & Co ALTWASSER mark in a band, an eagle in the center, under the bases, stamp used around 1860 by the Carl THIELSCH factory.



C. THIELSCH & Co

The factory was founded in 1845 by the entrepreneur Carl Robert THIELSCH (September 1, 1815 - November 2, 1882) and the banker Gideon von WALLENBERG. Part of its production is made up of luxury items and is characterized by the particular care taken in the design, the best designers and decorators being employed. Many pieces won awards at the universal exhibitions of 1851 in London, 1867 in Paris, 1873 in Vienna and 1880 in Melbourne.

In 1882, Carl THIELSCH was made a member of the Chamber of Commerce (and therefore entitled to bear the title of "Kommerzienrat"). He died the same year at the age of 67.
His son, the businessman and reserve officer Egmont THIELSCH succeeds him. Faced with the success of the factory, he inaugurated a new production site on January 1, 1906, which would also serve as a testing center. A technical revolution is presented there: the first coal-fired tunnel kiln for porcelain, with a total length of 64 meters.

Egmont THIELSCH received the "Roten Adlerorden IV. Klasse" (fourth class red eagle medal) and was elevated to the rank of peer, which led to a further boost in sales and, in 1913, the company reached its highest workforce with a workforce of 1,500 people, including 270 potters and 110 decorators. In 1914 the product catalog included an impressive 1,637 pieces of porcelain, not including variations in size and decoration.

In 1917, municipal authorities decided that Tielsch should reduce its capacity to 60% in order to preserve resources and consider transforming the company into a joint stock company. Important players then become shareholders and allow the company to thrive.

In 1929, the stock market crash made it impossible for almost all customers to pay for their orders. The company was forced to reduce its workforce to 1,200 people in 1930, the year of the death of Edgmont von TILSCH, who was succeeded by his son Herbert.

In 1932, Tielsch merged with Hutschenreuther.

On May 8, 1945, the town of Waldenburg was occupied by Russian troops and placed under the Polish government. The Tielsch family flees.

In 1952, the factory was nationalized. For 40 years, the factory was one of the main production sites for Polish porcelain and managed to build an excellent international reputation for its quality and craftsmanship.

From 1992, the installation was privatized and transformed into a public limited company. 15% of shares still belong to the state.


The Wałbrzych Porcelain Museum, of which THIELSCH was one of the main manufacturers, keeps in its collections, among other things, an exceptional inkwell with a blue background and an impressive cabaret by Carl THIELSCH. Pieces from the factory are kept in the collections of many museums around the world.