The custom of decorating interiors with porcelain came to Russia from Western Europe, where "porcelain studies" already existed. Especially popular were articles of Chinese manufacture painted with the colour-scheme known as famille verte. Favourite motifs for the decoration were images of birds, trees, plants and beneficent symbols. In the compositions on the dishes displayed on the western wall of the Antechamber we can find images symbolizing nobility - peonies and also rocks that were a symbol of longevity. In interiors and "porcelain studies" Chinese pieces were often found together with Japanese ones. The rich decoration of Japanese Imari porcelain, dispatched to Europe through the port of that name, also features images of flowers and birds. A distinctive feature of this type of porcelain is the colour scheme in which various shades of blue predominate in combination with red and gold.