Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"The history of the Dresden Porzellansammlung began in 1717 when Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, acquired the Holl©Þndisches Palais on the banks of the River Elbe, intending to transform it into a Porzallanschloss or porcelain palace. Within two years it had become a brilliant showpiece, filled with Chinese and Japanese porcelain and the first examples from the Meissen manufactory. However, the royal porcelain collector, who, in his own words, could never have enough of these treasures, planned to have a Porzallanschloss of even more fantastic proportions. As the king outlined his plans for expanding the palace - which was later to be renamed the Japanisches Palais - the Meissen manufactory began work immediately on the hundreds of dishes, plates, cups, jugs, vases, bottles and figures that were required. In 1732 alone, Augistus ordered 910 animals, birds, vases, tureens and dishes. ... [However], the king died in Warsaw, and with him his vision of the Porzallanschloss. Nevertheless, the palace, the plans for its decoration, and above all the porcelain itself have survived the centuries. [They] form the core of the Zwinger Museum's incomparable Dresden collection. Here more than 20 000 pieces of porcelian are housed, including the 10 000 items that form by far the largest collection of Early Meissen. ... Represented here, more extensively than ever before, are the most valuable and important pieces of the eighteenth century and the entire range of the Meissen manufactory, from the early B©ttger masterpieces to the celadon and Japanese porcelain and the porcelain of H©roldt. Here too, are the lifelike animal figures; the porcelain busts, statues and religious groups sculpted by Kirchner and K©Þndler; the splendid table services; and, finally, the coffee and tea services which exhibit the great variety of styles demanded by eighteenth-century taste."--Book jacket.