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It took until 1720 – a decade after the porcelain manufactory was founded – before Meissen had a suitable formula for an underglaze blue colour. Augustus the Strong wished for nothing less than Meissen blue-and-white porcelain in a quality to rival the many pieces of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in his collection. But he had to wait ten years until a more or less reliable formula was found. As these early examples show, the blue could sometimes be bright and luminous – or the firing might leave it dark and patchy, or even slate grey.