ABSTRACT
Friedrich Augustus I (1670-1733), Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King Augustus II ofPoland (Fig. 1) was a passionate art collector. The museums ofDresden preserve his famous collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works, instruments of natural sciences and the precious art pieces which were displayed in the Green Vault, the first 'treasure museum.' As a ruler of the Baroque age, Augustus the Strong was a particularly avid lover of East Asian porcelain. The Dresden Porcelain Collection, which is among the most important worldwide, is based on his Chinese and Japanese collections. The initiative and financial support of the king is also the reason for the European reinvention of porcelain. In the year 1710 the production of white porcelain was started for the first time in Europe in Meissen, a small town near Dresden.
