Meissen porcelain was the first European hard-paste porcelain to be developed and dominated the style of European porcelain until 1756. It was developed in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. Johann Friedrich Böttger continued the work of Tschirnhaus and brought Meissen porcelain to the market.The production of porcelain began in Meissen, near Dresden, and Meissen became one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers. They are still in business today under the name of Staatliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Meissen GmbH.The signature logo for all Meissen porcelain is the crossed swords design. This was introduced in 1720 in order to protect its production and make it easily identifiable from any counterfeits. This trade mark is one of the oldest trademarks in existence.Production of porcelain was already mastered by the Chinese a long time before the western countries became aware of the value of it. By the seventeenth century oriental porcelain became valuable commodities in the China trade.Most porcelain goods were provided by the Dutch East India Company. Porcelain that came from China and Japan represented status, wealth, and refined taste in Europe. All local attempts to produce porcelain at that time had all met with failure.However, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus had succeeded in putting together a successful recipe for porcelain. When he died this recipe was apparently handed over to Johann Friedrich Böttger.