These rare vases represent two significant contributions to the history of European ceramics: the earliest form of European hard-paste porcelain, developed at the Meissen Manufactory by Johann Friedrich Böttger (German, 1682–1719); and the virtuoso Schwartzlot (black enamel) decoration and gilding of Ignaz Preissler (German, 1676–1741), who came from a distinguished family of glass and ceramic decorators.