 The queen's grandfather, Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony, had founded the Meissen porcelain factory which led European porcelain, and her dowry is said to have included 17 Meissen table services.They recruited the Flemish chemist Livio Ottavio Schepers, whose son also joined, and the painter Giovanni Caselli (1698–1752), later followed by his niece Maria.The Florentine sculptor Giuseppe Gricci (c. 1700–1770), already working for the Neapolitan crown since 1738, joined as chief modeller; by 1755 he had five other modellers working for him, creating the moulds used for the pieces.