Saint Petersburg Porcelain

Saint Petersburg porcelain, pottery ware produced from 1744 to the present day by the principal Russian factory, the Imperial Porcelain Factory (from 1925, the M.V. Lomonosov State Porcelain Factory), in St. Petersburg. It was established under the patronage of the daughter of Peter I the Great, the empress Elizabeth. A few pieces, some underglaze-blue–painted, survive from the early period—e.g., snuffboxes, Oriental figures, and tea and coffee services.

The factory’s prime was reached when Catherine II the Great became empress in 1762. She provided annual subsidies, as well as able directors and foreign artists, whose skills were passed on to Russian workers in the reigns of her successors. The porcelain of Catherine II’s reign is Neoclassical, and the objects produced are typified by large, imposing services (such as the “Arabesque,” with 1,000 pieces for 60 settings) and biscuit figure groups. Also during this period Dominique Rachette, a French sculptor working in Russia, modeled a series of Russian peasant figures and portrait busts.

Under Paul I, large display vases were made. Alexander I commissioned wares painted with battle scenes; porcelain decorated largely with military motifs continued to be made under Nicholas I, much of it sumptuously executed. Art Nouveau porcelain, reflecting Danish influence, dates from the reign of Alexander III, and the famous painted Easter eggs from that of Nicholas II. In the 1920s, “propaganda” porcelain was produced. Modern porcelain tends to have patriotic decorative motifs or to reflect other arts, such as ballet.