Series of plates with a gilded edge and depictions of Russian troops

1826–36

Painted after the drawings of Alexander Sauerweid and others

The Imperial Porcelain Factory

St Petersburg, Russia

These plates represent the two most extensive series with military subjects produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory between the 1820s and 1840s. Military subjects appeared on the products of the Imperial Factory back in its early days under Empresses Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. Interest in such pieces grew with the victorious conclusion of the Patriotic War of 1812, and at that time the first series of desert dishes bearing depictions of soldiers in the uniforms of Alexander I's time appeared. The models for the painters were provided by illustrated publications showing the uniforms and equipment of the Russian army. The series was united by its subject matter and also by the design of the edges. The gilded and turquoise edges of the plates are decorated with matte and burnished gilt ornament consisting of alternating depictions of double-headed eagles, laurel wreaths, items of soldiers' arms and equipment.