A period of change set in from 1797 when Johann Peter Melchior became master sculptor at the Manufactory: He designed new forms for porcelain services and figurines. In so doing, he moved away from the early Classicist style of his predecessor and introduced elegant Empire forms. This calm use of form, indebted to Classicism, has lost none of its fascination to this day. It is responsible for the production, since 1985, of such successful designs as the reclining lion, also available in various versions as a paperweight.