Russian pottery and porcelain marks

Many Russian pottery and porcelain manufactures are not shown here. Porcelain was first made at St. Petersburg about 1743. Little is known of the early marking.

 

St. Petersburg (1-21)

1-3 Early marks. After 1743. Porcelain; 4-6 Catherine II. 1762-96; 7 Emperor Paul. 1796-1801 

8 Alexander I. 1801-1825. 9 Nicholas I. 1825-1855. 10-11 Alexander II. 1855-1871.12-15 Alexander II. 1871-1881. Starting with 1871, one dot was added to the mark yearly.16, 17 Korniloff Brothers. From 1825.18-21 Gardner. From 1758. At Moscow from about 1780. 18, 19 in blue.

Miscellaneous (22-32)

22 Mezer at Baranovka. From 1804. Porcelain. Mark stamped. 23-26 A. Popoff in Moscow. 1806-1872. Porcelain. Marks 25 and 26 are questionable 27 Kiev. M. Gulina. Porcelain. 28 Kiev. 29 Nicholas II. St. Petersburg. From 1894 30 Mezer at Baranovka. From 1804. Porcelain. 31 S. T. Kuznetsoff. St. Petersburg. 32 Stawsk. 1843-47. Pottery.
 

A porcelain military plate, period of Alexander II

Imperial Porcelain (formerly the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory) was founded in 1744 in Saint Petersburg pursuant to a letter from Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great, suggesting how profitable it would be to start a porcelain factory. At the time the only porcelain available was from Asia, and sold for more than gold because it was believed porcelain could remove poison from food. It became thus the first porcelain manufactory in Russia and the third in Europe.

A porcelain cup and saucer from the Raphael service, 1894

The time from 1750 through 1830 showed huge innovation in casting techniques, design, and coloration. The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory incorporated the rich heritage and creativity of Russian art in its works. This factory is known for it artistic integrity. Some of the artists who designed for this factory are T. Afanasjeva, G. Shulyak, N. Petrova, O. Matveeva, M. Sorokin, and S. Sokolov.

A porcelain cabinet plates, period of Nicholas II

The factory was taken over by the State after the revolution of 1917 and continued operation until it was privatized in the 1990's. As privatization spread a group attempted to gain legal control in order to loot the factory of the priceless items in its museum. One of these items is the dinnerware of Catherine the Great. This attempt was thwarted by the State and the museum was given to the Hermitage. No longer having any interest in the factory this original group sold their ownership, and then the ownership was again resold. The company went through turbulent period of mis-direction. Today the company is owned principally by a Russian oil company that is attempting to restore its artistic production.

Domes tea cup and saucer