4: History of the Museum. "The Cabinet of Exemplary Products" I

Vase bearing a depiction of flowers and fruit

1830s

Batenin Factory

Porcelain, with polychrome overglaze painting and gilding

The decorative vases produced by the factory owned by the merchant Philip Batenin are so distinctive that they cannot be mistaken for the products of any other Russian enterprise: they usually feature landscapes or luxuriant bouquets of flowers on a continuously gilded background. The gold frame gives a special resonance to the bright colours of the blooms, while the combinations of patches of colour in the painting put one in mind of Russian folk art. The shape of the vase, by contrast, displays the classical lines of an amphora with a tall neck and volute handles.