Imperial Russian Antique Gardner Cup & Saucer Decal Porcelain RARE, 1880-90
Imperial Russian Antique Gardner Cup & Saucer Decal Porcelain. Saucer: 17cm Cup: w:10cm x h:8cm Made by Gardner Porcelain Factory for the Imperial Russia's court.
A teacup from the "Drink Another". Displaying a pair of medallion portraits which have been decaled/. Gilded with gold and hand signed on the stamp. Produced between 1880 and 1890.19th century antique in excellent condition. See photos for more details. GARDNER PORCELAIN FACTORY, (RUSSIAN, FOUNDED 1766). The origins of the Gardner Porcelain Factory lie with English banker Francis Gardner, who founded the company in 1766. The initial factory was established in Verbilki, a small village in the Dmitrov district of Moscow Province.
The Gardner Porcelain Factory was significant for being the first private porcelain factory in Russia, as the Imperial Porcelain Factory, which was founded in 1744, manufactured porcelain solely for the Russian Imperial Court. By the mid-1770s, the Gardner factory had already begun to compete with the Imperial Porcelain Factory in terms of both quality of production and artistic merit. The result was to win Gardner Porcelain a multitude of commissions from the Russian Imperial Court, the most prestigious of which was the creation of huge and magnificent services for royal banquets. Empress Catherine the Great was a huge admirer of Gardner porcelain, and commissioned the factory to produce works to furnish a suburban residence for her son. In 1856, the Gardner Porcelain Factory received the title of a Supplier of His Imperial Majesty Court that was confirmed in 1865, 1872, 1882 and 1896.
Until the early 1890s, the factory belonged to the descendants of the founder. Kuznetsov Partnership for the production of porcelain and faience ware.
After the revolution of 1917, the factory was renamed as the Dmitrov State Porcelain Factory. Currently, the enterprise is named "Gardner Manufacture in Verbilki" and is the Honorary Member of the Guild of Purveyors to the Kremlin.