aiser and an expert in Russian decorative arts. He is a fine arts appraiser with the International Society of Appraisers and a Senior Appraiser with the National Association of Professional Appraisers. He was head of the Russian Department at Phillips Auction House in New York City in the 1980's and has studied at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is currently working in the Washington Metropolitan area.To order the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies click HERE.
An Excerpt from The Russian Imperial Porcelain Factory:
In the 18th century, the quest for porcelain and the production of porcelain was greatly sought after not only in Russia but in Europe and Asia as well. In 1740, Empress Elizabeth of Russia sought to develop a Russian national fine porcelain trade to supply the many formal banquets and gala balls of her court. Several porcelain factories opened during this period, but the focus of this paper is on the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
The porcelain products that were made at the Imperial Porcelain Factory were manufactured for the exclusive use of the Imperial Family. The fine porcelain was produced for the private and exclusive use in the numerous palaces of the Czars and the Grand Dukes. The Imperial Porce-lain Factory also produced fine pieces to be used as diplomatic gifts. The fine porcelain gifts showed the cultural growth and the rising influence of Russia and the Imperial family.
During the mid 18th century, the process of making porcelain was extremely difficult and very expensive. The achievement of high quality Russian white porcelain was a byproduct of the artisans who were hired by the Nobility as alchemists to convert ordinary metals to precious metals such as gold. Artists and scientists from all over Europe were sought to work in the factory in St. Petersburg to develop and perfect this precious product. Due to the scarcity and expense only the nobility and wealthy merchant class of this early period could afford to have porcelain plates and table articles in their lush dining rooms.
One of the first known services produced at the factory was the Private Service of Her Majesty (Example 1). It was a dinner and dessert service (ca. 1759 – 1762) for Empress Elizabeth. This was a raised floral and trellis design pattern.
Two of the first scientists to work and develop porcelain processes and products for the Empress and the Imperial Porcelain Factory were Dimitry Vinogradov and Mikhail Lomanosov. They were both great men of science, who worked on the basic development of perfecting the process of making porcelain.
From the 1750s through 1917, the Russian Imperial Factory pro-duced thousands of articles and porcelain banquet services for the Kremlin, the Winter Palace/Hermitage, Peterhoff, the Summer Palaces, the royal Yachts and all the many residences throughout the Russian Empire
In the early stages of development, the mystical alchemists were the magicians and scientist who were “Spinning Yarn into Gold” and developing clay into porcelain. They were the sorcerers of the day, hired by the court to produce the BEST products for the Empires of the Czars and the Kings of Europe. Outside the Imperial family and nobility, fine porcelain items were available only to the very rich of the day with lower and peasant classes having little understanding of the process and growth in development connected with it. During this early period of enlightenment in Imperial Russia, the arts and sciences branched out into many levels of commerce. The expansion of Russian civilization and culture was the order of the day. It was the beginning of a new era in Russia and it produced a magical and mystical atmosphere. During the 17th and 18th centuries Europeans were extremely superstitious, especially those living in eastern countries. Superstitions and skepticism extended into the understanding of the porcelain factory. At this early point in development much of the Russian peasant population had difficulty accepting the new science of porcelain manufacture. They were not sure to believe if it were science or magic that turned clay into these fantastic designs.
In addition to the numerous dinner services produced in the Im-perial Porcelain Factory, Catherine the Great also had many animal figures produced at the factory. There is an extremely fine figure of her dog seated on a green pillow which is currently at the Summer Palace. During this early period of porcelain manufacture larger items were a major challenge for the artisans at the factory. The building and development of larger porcelain furnaces to fire the soft clays was the challenge for the factory engineers and scientists. As the factory grew, there was an achievement of success which revealed the enormous cultural progress and national pride being made in Russia. Russia showed much growth and progress during the 18th century which would not have been accomplished without a dedicated methodology and modernization plan. The modernization of Russia allowed the growing country to compete with other European countries in art and culture.
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