I.R. BAGDASAROVA,
Ye.S. KHMELNITSKAYA
The collection of Russian porcelain and ceramics at the State Hermitage is based on the items transferred from the History and Everyday Life Department of the State Museum of Ethnography of the Peoples of the USSR in 1941, as well as articles from the pre-revolutionary Winter Palace and prominent private collections. The scale of the collection (around 10,000 exhibits) makes it possible to trace the key periods in the development of Russian ceramics.
Coarse ceramics, including black glazed vessels, were typical for the pre-18th century period, when pottery was the only type produced.
The Russian majolica can be traced back to A.K. Grebenshchikov, who founded a manufactory in Moscow in 1724. The rare surviving samples of dishes, plates and sauce jugs are painted in characteristic blue on light-bluish enamel.
Among the traditional Gzhel articles, we should note the jugs and kvass jars with typical disk-shaped bodies and sculptural figurines illustrating folklore scenes.
At the core of the Russian porcelain collection are the products of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory (1744-1917). One of the highlights is a cup with a relief vine (1749) bearing the stamp of D.I. Vinogradov, the inventor of the Russian porcelain production technology. The so-called Private table and dessert service produced for Empress Elizabeth (1759-1762) is one of the first Russian services ever made.
During the reign of Catherine the Great, the model-maker J.-D. Rachette designed individual allegorical figures and portraits as well as sculptural groups which became part of large ceremonial services: the Arabesque Service (1784), the Yacht Service (1785-1787) and the Cabinet Service (1793-1801). The famous Neoclassical vases of Catherine's age represented another technological breakthrough for the manufactory.
The place of honour among the items produced during the reign of Paul I belongs to the Yusupov table and dessert service, a 1798 Christmas present to the Emperor from Prince N.B. Yusupov, Director of the Imperial Manufactory.
The age of Alexander I is traditionally represented by two porcelain sculptures, the famous Man Carrying Water and Woman Carrying Water. They were made around 1817 after models by S.S. Pimenov.
The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory reached its technical and artistic peak during the reign of Nicholas I. The majestic Russia vase (1828) with a portrait of Alexander I was made to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the victory over Napoleon. In contrast to this monumental object, the painted flowers, birds and insects on the porcelain table-top Brazilian Flora (1850) seem almost tangible. They were painted by the famous "florist" artist F.I. Krasovsky.
In the reign of Alexander II, the range of products of the Imperial Manufactory was largely determined by the work of the model-maker August Spiess. Among his best projects is the large grandfather clock (mid-1850s) and paired vases with lids with masterfully moulded flowers.
The age of Alexander III saw the merger of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory and Glass Factory in 1890, under the joint management of D.N. Guryev. Experiments with glazing went on in the factory lab until the 1900s.
The collection of Russian porcelain includes over 200 porcelain Easter eggs with monograms and icons, landscapes, scenes and flowers. Art Nouveau became the predominant style during the reign of Nicholas II.
The first private porcelain works in Russia appeared during the age of Catherine the Great. Among them was F.Ya. Gardner's factory founded in 1766 in the village of Verbilki near Moscow. The Order Services of 1777-1785 (St Andrew, St George, St Alexander and St Vladimir) were intended for the yearly Winter Palace receptions for the knights of these orders.
Among the enterprises of the Moscow area, A.G. Popov's private factory stands out. It produced brightly-colured table and tea crockery, ceremonial "bread and salt" plates, as well as sculptures and various household utensils.
The serf painters of Prince N.B. Yusupov's factory, founded in 1814 in the village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow, used ready-made Russian and European white wares and painted them with flowers, allegorical and architectural compositions.
The Batenin factory in St Petersburg (1814-1838) produced tea and coffee sets with architectural views of the capital. Their amphora-like vases, decorated with bright bouquets of flowers, are easy to recognize.
A prominent private porcelain factory of the second half of the 19th century belonged to the Kornilov brothers. Founded in St Petersburg in 1835, it competed even with the leading Kuznetsov brand, which was in nearly full control of the Russian ceramics market by the early 20th century.
Russian porcelain factories had different fates after the 1917 revolution. The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory was nationalized and became the State Porcelain Manufactory, used to produce the so-called "agitfarfor" or propaganda-bearing wares. The post-revolutionary period was a prolific one for representatives of different trends in Russian avant-garde art: S.V. Chekhonin, Z.V. Kobyletskaya, M.N. Mokh, L.V. Protopopova, A.V. Shchekotikhina-Pototskaya and others, as well as the famous suprematist N.M. Suyetin, a pupil of Konstantin Malevich.
The Hermitage collection of Soviet porcelain is not very extensive, but it contains several unique items. The new artists' desire for innovation combined with the experience of St Petersburg porcelain-making traditions produced some cutting-edge designs and exhibits.
