RIDING SCHOOL
SINCE 1718
Manu factum est.
„Von Hand gefertigt“
„Hand made“
So delicate and yet so robust – the secret of how to make porcelain eluded the western world for a long time. Discovering the
formula certainly required some intuition from the alchemists. Yet making the finest porcelain requires just three “ingredients”
The secret lies in getting the proportions right! Once the mix has been prepared, it can be employed immediately to make the
most beautiful shapes. If the piece is to be thrown on the wheel, the paste has to be allowed to mature until it achieves the ideal
consistency. Round and free-form shapes are created by hand on the wheel and are then dried. Plaster moulds are required to
make the various parts for each piece of porcelain. Hollow shapes and figurines are cast and then allowed to dry before being
removed from the mould. A single figure can consist of anything up to 70 separate parts that are put – or rather stuck – together
and finished in a time-consuming manual process. The same porcelain paste is used to make the supports that hold the piece of
porcelain in the required shape during firing.
Next, the tricky firing process begins. The first firing is known as biscuit firing, and takes place at 930° C. It causes the material to
harden but its surface remains porous. Next it is time to give the raw porcelain its “identity”. Each piece is checked and cleaned
and then marked with the signature striped shield prior to glazing. The shield is the coat of arms of the Babenberg family, and has
been the trademark of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory since 1744.
Once the glazing has been applied by hand, the porcelain gets its second or main firing. This takes place at a temperature of
1380° C, and gives the porcelain almost the same compressive strength as steel. The porcelain now has a smooth, glazed surface,
which is just perfect for detailed decoration using a quill pen or brush. Depending on the pattern and the number of colours, there
can be up to six intermediate firings. Finally, gilt edges or decoration for the relevant pattern are painted on. Gold dust mixed with
clove oil is applied to the porcelain and the piece is fired again to volatise the fugitive components so that 24-carat gold is all that
remains. It is then polished with agate or sea sand. The Vienna manufactory is well known among connoisseurs for the purity,
colour and intensity of the gold.
Every Augarten piece is thus the product of the enormous patience and creativity of craftsmen who are true experts in their field.
WIENER PORZELLANMANUFAKTUR AUGARTEN
• Courbette
• Levade with rider
• Levade without rider
Historical shoot of a “stove fitter”
• Pirouette
• Piaffe
• Trot
• In the posts
• Capriole
The Artists
Karin Jarl-Sakellarios
Courbette
The courbette is what is known as a school jump. The horse jumps even distances in the levade position
without touching the ground with its forelegs, which remain raised.
The modeller has to assemble 68 separate parts to make this figure. All the weight is on the hind legs and
the tail and, consequently, the person placing the figure in the kiln needs to be extremely careful. If it is
not positioned perfectly with optimum support from firing accessories, the upright stance could easily be
lost and it would no longer pass the strict quality controls.
The rider is wearing his parade uniform, which includes a red tailcoat with golden epaulettes and
borders. The horse’s bridle is black with gold trim and the mane is also decorated with gilded tassels.
Crouched on its haunches, the horse raises its forehand so that it makes an angle of less than 45 degrees
with the ground.
The painter must demonstrate an exceptional touch when completing this figure. If he presses too hard
on the sabre – the Achilles heel of the levade with rider – when attaching the figure, he will break the tip
of the sabre and ruin the work of the many artists through whose hands it has already passed.
Some horses learn the levade without a rider to start with. It needs to be mastered before learning the
aerial jumps.
The way a horse takes to the levade can also, to a certain extent, indicate whether it is more suited to
the capriole or the courbette. At the Vienna Manufactory, too, the levade is used during the training of
the figure modellers as an introduction to the demanding Spanish Riding School models.
Because of the level of difficulty of these models, work on the riding school figures only starts in the third
year of training.
Pirouette
When performing the pirouette, the horse’s forehand moves in a circle around the hind quarters, which
also move in a tiny circle about a central point as close as possible to the inside hind leg. When creating
this figure, the modeller’s main task is to convey the harmony between horse and rider.
Just like the levade with rider, attaching the delicate sabre requires maximum concentration.
Piaffe
In equestrian terms, the piaffe is part of an haute école/dressage exercise. Piaffing consists of trotting
almost on the spot with a short pause in mid-air between the diagonal steps. This figure is an impressive
demonstration of the modeller’s craftsmanship. The model is supported on the horse’s front left and back
right legs and thus requires excellent balance.
The rider in this figure is wearing a brown tailcoat. His hat is worn sideways and decorated with gold at
the front. The bridle and reins have gold-plated buckles and the curb connector is also gilded. The horse
does not have a breastplate, only a crupper. As with the other models, the shabrack is red with gold
trim.
Trot
The horse is switching from one diagonally opposite pair of legs to the other with a short pause in mid-air
in between.
As with most Spanish Riding School models, the retoucher has the difficult task of ensuring a perfect
balance.
In the posts
This figure shows the horse between the posts practicing the levade. Posts help to improve the horse’s
commitment on its hind quarters and its rhythm.
The rider is standing to the left of the horse’s hind quarters and is holding the Spanish Riding School’s
traditional willow crop in his right hand. The two post halter reins hold the horse in the required training
position while the two side reins give it the noble neckline known as the swan’s neck.
This figure is extremely difficult to produce. One of the key difficulties is ensuring that the posts are
completely upright. What's more, the post halter reins have to be stretched tight. This requires an
exceptionally fine touch because there is a great risk of the reins breaking, even when drying in the
open air.
Capriole
This figure shows a horse performing an haute école jump. The horse has jumped vertically and has all
four legs stretched out at the same time. Because this jump looks rather like a goat leaping, it was
christened the capriole – the goat’s jump (capra is the Latin word for goat).
The Vienna Porcelain Manufactory Augarten has achieved the highest level of difficulty with this model.
In this imposing position – almost floating in mid-air – the horse is only connected to the rider's left hand,
which is holding the rein, and his right shoulder. In his right hand, the rider is holding the willow crop which
is made from metal in this model.
It only became possible to produce this model – designed by Professor Herbert Schwarz – in porcelain in
1962. The immense structural difficulties are one of the greatest challenges facing figure modellers. This
model is painted in the same way as the figures between the posts and performing the piaffe and trot.
www.augarten.at
Manu factum est.
„Von Hand gefertigt“
„Hand made“
www.augarten.at