Page 90 - Christie;es Marchant January 18 2018

CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN ORDERED
BY THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL COURT (Lots 174-177)

Three Chinese export porcelain orders, each enameled with
the Imperial coat-of-arms, were made for the Russian court
in the 18th century. The frst, dating to circa 1720, was a set
of apothecary jars ordered for Emperor Peter the Great, and
the second, circa 1740, was a set of dishes made for Empress
Elizabeth, but evidently appreciated and used by Empress
Catherine the Great — an avid porcelain collector — at the
Winter Palace, main residence of the Imperial family from 1732.
The third was a large dinner service ordered by Catherine about
1785 in the then-fashionable neoclassical style, not unlike her
famous Wedgwood ‘frog’ service. Most known plates from the
Empress Elizabeth service bear the inventory marks in red of the
Court Chamberlain’s Offce at The Winter Palace.
Empress Catherine promoted the Chinese overland tea trade
with Russia throughout her reign. Tea had arrived in Russia in
the late 17th century, but under Peter the Great its restricted
importation had made it a very expensive luxury. For further
detail on the Russian orders, see T. B. Arapova, ‘The double-
headed eagle on Chinese porcelain’, Apollo, January 1992,
pp. 21-23.

174 175
A RARE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ARMORIAL PLATE A RUSSIAN IMPERIAL ARMORIAL SOUP PLATE
QIANLONG PERIOD, CIRCA 1740 QIANLONG PERIOD, CIRCA 1785
With a large Imperial coat-of-arms, the reverse marked in red enamel With the Imperial Russian coat-of-arms for Catherine the Great,
with an inventory number and Cyrillic initial for the Winter Palace the border with purple ribbon interlaced with fowering vine
9 in. (22.8 cm.) diameter 9√ in. (25.1 cm.) diameter
$10,000-15,000 $3,000-5,000

174 175

88 CHINESE EXPORT ART