In the early 18th century, Meissen achieved the first commercially available hard-paste porcelain in Europe. Chinese porcelain, pure white and exquisitely transparent, was long coveted by European ceramicists as well as consumers, and out of the attempts to emulate and create it came faience, maiolica, delft, and soft-paste porcelain. As the center for Western porcelain, the Meissen manufactory produced undecorated wares that were sent out to hausmaler, “home painters,” throughout Europe for decoration. Such is the case with this teapot, which was decorated by a Dutch artist in clear imitation of Chinese export porcelains. Though the porcelain and its enamels were not executed concurrently, the German ceramicist and the Dutch hausmaler seem to be of one artistic mind: the delicate decoration does not overpower the pure white porcelain but enhances the “exotic” and precious medium. The teapot is a celebration of Meissen’s discovery of the white gold that had long been desired in the West.