A porcelain plate from the Raphael Service, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, period of Nicholas II (1894-1917), dated 1903

Lot 404. circular, the centre decorated with a classical figure within a hexagonal on white ground, the border with additional figures alternating with classical-style friezes, grottesques and foliate decoration, with gilt-edged rim and base, marked under base with a large gilt cypher Nicholas II, dated 1903 - diameter: 24.2 cm. (9 1/2 in.)  Estimate: £12,000 - 14,000, $25,000 - 29,000

Note : This service was considered the largest and most important produced by the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory during the reign of Alexander III. Originally drawn from Raphael frescoes in the Vatican loggias, they were reproduced by Quarenghi during the reign of Catherine the Great. The service was completed in 1903, the date of the offered lot, and comprised fifty place settings. For plates from the same service see G. Agarkova and N. Petrovna, 250 Years of Lomonosov Porcelain Manufacture in St. Petersburg, 1774-1994, St. Petersburg, 1994, pp. 21, 59, 61, 79 and Anne Odom, Russian Imperial Porcelain at Hillwood, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 92-93.

Bonhams. The Russian Sale, 26 Nov 2007. New Bond Street