Elegant Chinese and European porcelain was highly valued by the Russian royal court. Noble decorated their tables with rich services, porcelain figurines, vases and candlesticks. Such products were intended for family use, for rewarding (valued at the gold level), for ceremonial events. But they did not produce their porcelain in Russia. And only in 1744, on the orders of Elizabeth I, a big fan of porcelain dishes and sculptures, was the first Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory (IFZ) founded. Subsequently, real masterpieces began to be produced there from china. The central palace complexes of St. Petersburg and Moscow have a unique collection of imperial porcelain of foreign and domestic production.
The most famous imperial family china sets:
1
Russian service
The ceremonial table service “Guryevsky” (commonly known as “Russian”) is one of the richest and most magnificent dinner services in the world. He is famous for being executed by Russian masters at the IPF. He received his name "Russian" for the image of representatives of all nationalities of the Russian Empire. It totaled about 4,500 different items and included a dining room, tea, coffee and dessert set with unique sculptural vases and fruit bowls.
Its author is considered a model master and professor of the Academy of Arts S. S. Pimenov. The overall design was developed by architect Jean Tom de Thomon. Also, large items of the service depicted copies of engravings and landscapes of F. Alekseev, S. Shchedrin, D.-A. Atkinson, E. M. Korneev, A. Ukhtomsky, A. Orlovsky, S. Galaktionov.
At the very beginning, the service was planned for 50 people. It was constantly supplemented with various items. In the reign of Nicholas I, a coffee set was made for the service. Interestingly, there are no teapots in the tea set, since tea was served already in cups.
The appearance of the service impresses with its luxury and quality of painting. The edges of the plates have a rich golden pattern, the center is decorated with figures of peasants and nationalities, made in the antique style. The service was complemented by vases and porcelain female figures.
The service is stored in Peterhof.
2
Green Frog Service
Among the richest collection of porcelain exhibits of the Hermitage, the service “Green Frog” shines. In 1774, on the conquered lands in the Northern War, which were called Kikeriki (in translation - the frog swamp), Catherine II ordered the construction of a magnificent palace for herself. Kikerikinsky palace complex was intended for entertainment and private recreation of the Empress.
For the design of the palace dining room in England, a special service was ordered for 52 people. The number of items in it was about 1,000 units. The name of the locality influenced the appearance of the service, the central figure of which was an ordinary frog. The service was first exhibited at a reception in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Chesme.
The service was not impressive with special richness and brilliance, but it was very elegant and functional. It includes not only standard tableware, but also ice cream vases, bowls, dessert plates, fruit bowls and other exquisite items. It depicts English landscapes in olive tones on a light beige background. In the center of the objects is an image of a frog.
3
Arabesque service
At the high command of Catherine II in 1784, the masters of IPF made a delicious “Arabesque” service. It totaled 973 subjects and was intended to accept 60 people. It got its name from images of excavation sites and the ancient ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The service was supplemented by allegorical groups of figures, vases, tureens and other objects.
Most of the service is stored in the Russian Museum. Some objects can be seen in the palace complexes of Tsarskoye Selo, Peterhof and the Hermitage.
4
Service of Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky
Photo by: Shakko / CC BY-SA
Catherine II introduced into fashion award services dedicated to victories in battles and to encourage prominent persons of the court. One of these services was received by the naval commander Count A.G. Orlov-Chesmensky.
The service was created in 1770–1774 at the Meissen manufactory and was dedicated to the victory of the Russian fleet in Chesme Bay. The items of the service are decorated with the monograms of the count surrounded by Two-headed Eagles. The Moscow Historical Museum holds 97 items.
5
Andreyevsky service
The unique service made at the Saxon manufactory was presented by August III to the wedding of the heir to the Russian throne, Prince Peter Fedorovich and Princess Sophia-Frederica-Augusta. It was made in 1745, and has a second name, Dry Saxon Flowers. His set included a dining room, coffee and tea sets and a chocolate set. Floral motifs and a blue cross with the crucifixion of Apostle Andrei, the heavenly patron of the Russian state, are depicted on a snow-white background of objects.
Also, items are decorated with the arms of the Russian Empire. German sculptors and artists worked on the service. The main masterpiece of the service is tureen. It was made separately by the sculptor Eder.
It is stored in the State Hermitage
6
"Kremlin" service
In 1837, an amazingly beautiful service was created at the IPF, which was intended for the Kremlin Palace. The customer was Nikolai I. The author of the service is F.G. Of the suns. In the drawing of the service, the motifs of the golden wash-vessel of Tsaritsa Natalya (Naryshkina) and the old golden dish of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov were used. Gilded porcelain and emerald patterns was an extraordinary success.
The entire imperial family used the service until the revolution. After it, many items were lost or disassembled into collections. In Moscow, only units from the service are stored (200 items). Each item of this service is a unique value.
7
Service "Cameos"
Catherine II collected cameos - carved semi-precious stones of oval shape with various relief images. This collection is now in the Hermitage. In honor of this collection, a unique turquoise cameo set was made for the Empress in France. There were about 700 objects in it.
At the table it was possible to seat 60 people. The outer part of the items is decorated with oval cameos and golden garlands of flowers, in the center of which is the monogram of the hostess of the service.
7
Egyptian service
Photo by: SiefkinDR / CC BY-SA
The uniqueness of this service is that it was presented in 1807 to Emperor Alexander I by Napoleon Bonaparte himself. The service was made in France and was dedicated to the Egyptian company of the French emperor. This grand service went to Russia as a diplomatic present in honor of the signing of the Tilsit Peace.
The central decoration of the table consists of sculptures, miniature copies of Egyptian temples and obelisks made of snow-white porcelain "biscuit". On a cobalt background of tableware, decor is used in the form of golden Egyptian hieroglyphs.
In the center of plates and dishes, the main architectural monuments of ancient Egypt are depicted. The drawings were made from engravings by Baron de Denon. Each service item is unique and its pattern is not repeated.
Our article has come to an end. The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you to write in the comments which imperial services made the greatest impression on you. And if you know other no less beautiful imperial services that did not appear in our article, write about them!