BY THE IMPERIAL PORCELAIN FACTORY, ST PETERSBURG, PERIOD OF NICHOLAS I, 1843

The following porcelain lots provide a rare view of the most significant works executed by the Imperial Porcelain Factory and other major Russian private porcelain factories. Spanning a range of genres and time periods, with works from the reign of Empress Catherine II to the early 20th Century, the rarity of these plaques, plates, figures and eggs is exceptional. At the heart of this selection lies a comprehensive group of porcelain depicting Russian regiments and military scenes, highlighted by extremely rare porcelain plaques. These plaques, created during the reign of Nicholas I, demonstrate the virtuoso skill of factory painters of the period. Painted after Adolphe Ladurner’s celebrated designs for military paintings and included in the seminal Exposition de Céramiques Russes Anciennes at the Musée Ceramique de Sèvres in 1929, they are rare Imperial works that relate both to the military services ordered by Nicholas I and to monumental palace vases. A group of porcelain works of this range and rarity, with exquisite figures and eggs alongside the highest quality military porcelain, is rarely seen outside of museum collections.