5: History of the Museum. "The Cabinet of Exemplary Products" II

The St Andrew Service

1744-1745

Royal Saxon Porcelain Factory, Meissen, Germany

Porcelain, with polychrome overglaze painting and gilding

This service was a diplomatic gift from Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, to Empress Elizabeth on the occasion of the marriage in 1745 of her nominated heir, Grand Duke Piotr Fiodorovich (later Peter III, 1761-1762) and Princess Sophia Augusta Friederica of Anhalt-Zerbst (later Catherine II, 1762-1796).

The service comprised dining, coffee, tea and chocolate sections and numbered around 400 items. It was intended to provide table settings for 26 people. It gets its name from an important element in the decoration featured on every item - the cross of the Order of St Andrew the First-Called, which was founded in 1698 by Peter I as the highest decoration of the Russian Empire.