History
Eduardo Eichler learned his trade at a pottery in Unčín owned by the Huffzky family. He began in 1853 by renting a small tile company in Duchcov owned by a relative of the Huffzkys. He then founded a pottery in Duchcov in 1863 which he named after himself, E. Eichler Thonwaren-Fabrik. Five years later he purchased anther pottery in Šelty in Česká Lipé to expand the pottery line. The new line included terracotta, porcelain, siderolith, earthenware and enamel decorated earthenware. He also helped to build a professional ceramics school in Teplice.
In the 1880s he began the production of majolica. The company prospered under Eichler’s ownership winning a silver medal at the Exhibition Universalle in Paris in 1878. At Eichler’s sudden death from a heart attack in 1887 it then came under the direction of Eichler’s widow Marie and her eldest son Anton Franz Eichler who took over leadership of the pottery.
They ran it alone until 1891 when Anton purchased the company from his mother with investor Wilhelm Hans who supplied a much needed infusion of capital. Under his direction the company continued to flourish and entered its most successful period. Hans introduced production of a new soft paste porcelain. At the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the company exhibited delicate figures, vases and lamp bases.
In 1897 the company became a joint stock company and changed its name to Dux Porzellenmanufter A.C. Further expansion on March 18, 1901 and the factory became Duxer Porzellan-Manufaktur, Actiengesellschaft vormals Ed. Eichler, through the purchase of a porcelain factory in Blankenheim, Germany. The factory obtained a permit to operate in Austria in the commercial register of the royal court in Berlin where corporate headquarters were moved and the pottery took the name Royal Dux.
With the decline in popularity of majolica after 1920, Royal Dux’s focus turned to other bodies, mainly porcelain. A succession of owners continued production through the Twentieth century. After WWI and the resulting depression the company headquarters returned to Duchcov, where economic realities caused quality to suffer. Production during WWII declined. Production was again transferred to Berlin in 1935 and pieces were marked Royal Dux Deutschland. These German pieces began a new marking system utilizing a three digit number and the letter P.
In 1945 after WWII, the company again returned to Duchcov when Bohemia, Slovakia and Moravia combined to create Czechoslovakia. In 1947 Royal Dux was nationalized. Eichwald Pottery, Royal Dux and Count Thun’s Porcelain Factory were combined and the resulting company was renamed Duchcovsky Porcelain, a name it retained through the Russian occupation.
In 1957 the company merged with Carlsbad Porcelain. The company factory in Duchcov was taken under stock ownership again in 1992 and changed its name to Porcelánová Manufactory Royal Dux Bohemia A.S. The company became an independent joint-stock company again until 1997, when it became a member of the Český Porcelán group as part of a capital merger until this year 2023, when it permanently ceased operations on March 1. The company continues to operate in Dubi, Czechoslovakia.
Marks
The Royal Dux Bohemia trademark name has remained in continuous use throughout the Twentieth century to present day. Today, Royal Dux mainly produces porcelain, sometimes utilizing prewar molds.
Royal Dux pottery is usually marked. Their most distinctive mark is the pink triangle which started in use c.1860. The mark continued in use through the Twentieth century, both as an applied pad and as an ink mark, joined in 1919 by the phrase Made in Czechoslovakia. This remained in use until the company was taken private in 1990 and the mark changed to Made in the Czech Republic. The mark often included a stylized acorn. A plain text mark has also been used.
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