German hard-paste, or true, porcelain produced at the Meissen factory, near Dresden in Saxony (now Germany), from 1710 until the present day. It was the first successfully produced true porcelain in Europe and dominated the style of European porcelain manufactured until about 1756, after which the leadership ultimately passed to French Sèvres porcelain.

Some of the earliest European porcelains were produced at the Meissen factory in the early 18th century; they were formed from a paste composed of kaolinite, quartz, and alabaster and fired at temperatures in excess of 1,350 °C (2,462 °F), producing a porcelain of great hardness and strength. Later, the composition of the Meissen hard paste was changed and the alabaster was replaced by feldspar, allowing the pieces to be fired at lower temperatures. Kaolinite, feldspar and quartz (or other forms of silica) continue to provide the basic ingredients for most continental European hard-paste porcelains.

The rarity and expense of Meissen porcelain meant that originally it could only be bought by the upper classes. Meissen took orders from the elites of Russia, France, England and other European countries. The European wealthy accumulated vast collections and when a wealthy class emerged in the United States people like the Vanderbilts started their own collections. Many of these collections then found their way into the world's great museums.