History
Founder Eduardo Eichler learned his trade at a pottery in Unčín owned by the Huffzky family. He began his independent production in 1853 by renting a small tile company in Duchcov owned by his former employer’s family. 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, Česká Lipé to expand the pottery line. The new line included terracotta, porcelain, siderolith, earthenware and enamel decorated earthenware. To train locals in the field 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 1878 Exhibition Universalle in Paris. 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 a new infusion of capital from investor Wilhelm Hans allowed Anton to purchase the company from his mother. Under Anton and Han’s direction the company flourished 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’s exhibit is described as including “delicate figures, vases and lamp bases.”
In 1897 the company became a joint stock company and changed its name to Dux Porzellenmanufter A.C. Through the purchase of a porcelain factory in Blankenheim, Germany in 1901 the factory expanded their porcelain capability adding hard paste porcelain to their production line.The company was renamed again to Duxer Porzellan-Manufaktur, Active gesellschaft vormals Ed. Eichler. When the factory obtained a permit to operate in Austria and in the commercial register of the royal court in Berlin, where corporate headquarters were moved, they were given the right to the name Royal Dux.
Later History
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 March 1, 2023, when the Duchcov factory permanently ceased operations. The company continues to manufacture ceramics 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.
