Peterhof The Russian Gallery: Articles cadeaux et objets d'art russes.

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Porcelain - History
   ''What is this substance so white and pure as to resemble the mists of distant Siberia?''

   Tsar Peter the Great, fascinated by “white gold” from Saxony, attempted to elucidate its origin as early as 1718. The key to Russia’s modernization lay in adopting a European model, and the success of porcelain in Europe had thus attracted the Tsar’s attention. He made substantial use of it in day-to-day life, particularly as a form of decoration. However, Russia was obliged to import porcelain for as long as its origin remained a mystery.

   Porcelain also exerted a powerful attraction on Tsarina Catherine I and the royal subjects under her influence. The Tsar actively encouraged the manufacture of porcelain in Russia but these efforts were fruitless and became a source of frustration for the royal couple and their daughter, Tsarina Elisabeth (1741-1761). In 1744, Christoph Hunger, a specialist from Stockholm, was assigned the task of establishing the first Russian porcelain works. By 1746, it was clear that Hunger was unable to produce porcelain of the quality required by the royal court and he was forced to flee the country. His successor, Dmitri Vinogradov, was a qualified chemist and set about his task at the newly established Imperial Porcelain Manufactory with great enthusiasm. Vinogradov conducted lengthy trials in an attempt to obtain a smooth, white, delicate porcelain. He achieved a breakthrough in 1750 when he discovered how to reproduce vivid shades of green, blue, and red. Six months later, the Tsarina was presented with a magnificent birthday present: a tobacco box manufactured at Lomonosov, the royal porcelain works.

   From the mid XVIII century, the Russians were able to produce ''Porzelin'' or ''Farfor'', a name borrowed from Persian and meaning ''Chinese emperor''. The quality of porcelain produced in the St Petersburg Manufactory soon rivaled that of Saxony, and orders rapidly multiplied. Unfortunately for Vinogradov, he benefited little from the success of his creation, instead sinking into alcoholism and met an early death. His demise was undoubtedly hastened by the incessant criticisms and relentless orders from the Tsarina.

   Porcelain production in Russia gathered momentum under Catherine II (1762-1796), whose name became synonymous with the typical imperial blue and gold motif. The luxurious St. Petersburg summer palaces, admired throughout Europe, became a showcase for arabesque-adorned porcelain and bone-china dining services. The Manufactory continued to flourish under the Tsarina's son, Paul I, basing its production technique on the recipe Vinogradov had developed, and that still constitutes the basis of production to this very day.

   Russian porcelain underwent a series of artistic developments during the XIX century. Tsar Alexander Pavlovich, driven by a desire to further improve quality, recruited the services of the greatest craftsmen and artists of Europe: Schultz, Schriber, and Seiffer from the Royal Prussian Porcelain Factory, and Henri Adam, and Denis Moreau from the French Sèvres Factory.

   The October Revolution of 1917 deprived the Lomonosov works of raw materials. Production gradually ceased, and definitive closure loomed. In March 1918, however, orders were issued to revive production and to manufacture revolutionary porcelain for the proletariat. A new style emerged bearing slogans derived from Soviet propaganda and the Kremlin, delighted, requested that the pieces be exhibited at international expositions, such as the Riga, Helsinki, Berlin and Stockholm fairs. Russian porcelain was thriving once more. A selection of the finest objects produced in the Manufactory is presented at Peterhof.