Two Large and Rare Russian Porcelain Serving Dishes from the Kremlin Service, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, Period of Nicholas I (1825-55)

the centers painted with stylized swirling foliage with blue tulips centering on a coral-colored rosette, all set against a black ground within a border of green heart-shaped leaves, the remainder of the plate with elongated palmettes in green and black on a richly ornamented ciselé gilt ground, the tooled, gilded rim painted with a band of simulated red and green jewels - with blue cypher marks of Nicholas I, both with red inventory numbers. diameter 35.5 cm. Est. 15,000—20,000 USD

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: See Tamara Kudriavtseva, Russian Imperial Porcelain, St. Petersburg, 2003, pp. 130-132.

NOTE: This service was commissioned for use in the Great Kremlin Palace, the official Moscow residence for the Imperial family, when the process of renovating, and ultimately rebuilding, the palace began in 1837. The task of designing the new service fell to the talented student and future professor of the Academy of Arts Fedor Solntsev, who had been studying and recording Russian antiquities. He drew upon 17th century metalwork as a model; in the case of these serving dishes, the source was the interior of a richly jeweled tazza belonging to Tsaritsa Natalia Kirillovna housed in the Kremlin Armory Museum.

Sotheby's. Russian Art. 22 Apr 09. New York www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's