2: Imperial Porcelain. Historicism

Biscuit bouquet

1850

Made by Piotr Ivanov

Imperial Porcelain Factory

Moulded biscuit, with wood, glass, bronze and gilding

In Nicholas I's reign moulded porcelain flowers came into extensive use in the decoration of pieces. They served to adorn vases, clock cases, mirror frames, chandeliers and tableware. They were also combined in separate bouquets - in unglazed biscuit or painted in imitation of nature.

In the middle decades of the 19th century Piotr Ivanov, a craftsman at the Imperial Porcelain Factory, became famed for his unprecedentedly fine moulded flowers. To make them he developed an especially plastic porcelain paste, the secret of which has since sadly been lost. The Bouquet of Biscuit Flowers on a Plaque Finished like a Table in the Porcelain Museum collection is one of Ivanov's best works. It was made in 1850 and intended to be shown at the Great Exhibition in London (1851).