The history of the porcelain and faience industryRussia has more than 250 years. During this time, she experienced both ups and downs. Lomonosov Porcelain Factory is the oldest enterprise of this industry in the country. It operates today, but under a different name.
What is the history of the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory? What products does it produce today? You will learn about this from our article.
Porcelain of Russia: the history of the industry
Durable, resistant to various influences andBeautiful material called porcelain has long been used for the production of dishes and interior items. It is based on four natural components: kaolin, quartz, clay and feldspar. The first "formula" of porcelain was derived by the Chinese in the VII century. Europeans recipe for its production became known much later - only at the beginning of the XVIII century.
The first in the Russian Empire manufactoryPorcelain production originated in 1744 in Petersburg. This is precisely the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. True, today it bears a different name - Imperial.
Porcelain and faience reached unprecedented developmentRussian industry in the era of the USSR. At that time, about 80 enterprises of this branch of production functioned within our country, which produced mainly mass-produced products. Unfortunately, today only three porcelain factories fully operate in Russia.
Lomonosov Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg: history and stigma
The oldest porcelain factory in Russia is located in St. Petersburg. The year of its foundation is the 1744th.
Initially, the company was called Nevaporcelain manufactory. From the middle of the XVIII century and until 1917, the plant was called the Imperial, and after the revolution - the State. In 1925, he received a new name: Leningrad Porcelain Factory named after MV Lomonosov. The shortened version of LFZ lived to this day. In 2005, the plant again became known as the Imperial.
At the end of the XIX century a museum was established at the factory.By order of Tsar Alexander III, each order from the imperial family was to be made in two copies - one of them was left in this museum. Thus, his collections are stably and regularly replenished with new works. Soviet power museum at LFZ preserved. Moreover, during the Second World War, all his collections were evacuated to the city of Irbit in the Urals.
In Soviet times, the Leningrad Porcelain Factorywas reoriented to the production of mass products of medium quality Huge circulation at the enterprise produced dishes, tea sets and figurines. In the 1920s and 1930s, famous Soviet artists worked at the plant: Ilya Chashnik, Nikolay Suetin, and also Kazimir Malevich.
For a long time, the plant used the stamp in the form of threebound letters: LFZ. Since 1991, under the abbreviation appeared signature: Made in Russia. Currently, the plant uses a new stamp, which depicts a two-headed eagle in blue. Above the eagle there is an inscription Imperial Porcelain, and under it is the year of foundation of the plant (1744th) and the city name in English (St. Petersburg).
Modern factory products
To date, the Imperial Porcelain Factory produces over 4 thousand items of various products. The range of manufactured products is extremely wide. It:
- sets (coffee, table and tea);
- sculptures and statues (animalistic, genre, agitation);
- vases;
- plates and sockets;
- teapots and coffee pots;
- mugs;
- glasses;
- cups with saucers;
- ashtrays and more.
All products are made of solid orbone china, decorated with painting (under and over glaze). The company has its own website where you can get acquainted with the list of products manufactured by the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. Shop at the plant (corporate) is open daily from 10 to 20:00. Store address: Obukhov Oborony Avenue, 151.
Sculpture of Lomonosov Porcelain Factory
Porcelain figurines made under the brand LFZ are very popular. And not only modern, but also old, Soviet. The latter have value primarily for collectors.
Sculpture, created in the workshops of the Imperialthe plant is distinguished by a rich painting, delicate elaboration of all the details, sophistication and individuality of execution. Currently, the company produces both genre and animal sculpture. Moreover, the technology of its production has not changed for more than a century: all the figures of the master are done exclusively by hand.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the factory replicated in biscuitseveral works of the famous Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson (in particular, “The Birth of Venus”, “The Demon”, “Cry of the Soul”). No less famous series of sculptures was created by the company during the years 1907-1917. This is a series called “Peoples of Russia”. The sculptor Pavel Kamensky became the author of most of her figures. In 2007, the Imperial Porcelain Factory recreated 36 (out of 74) sculptures from this series.
LFZ: the top 5 most expensive figurines
At the present time, the Russians (as well as residentsother post-Soviet countries) woke up a huge interest in Soviet porcelain. In particular, to the figurines. On various sites and forums, collectors can sell or buy figures of the Leningrad plant.
We analyzed several such specialized Internet resources and identified the five most expensive LFZ statuettes of the Soviet era at the price:
- "Stepan Razin", 1960s (approximate price - 85,000 rubles).
- "Hooligan with a balalaika", 1970s (75,000 rubles).
- “Svarshchitsa”, 1970s (67,000 rubles).
- “The Boy with the Alphabet”, 1950s (65,000 rubles).
- “Vakula on the line”, 1950s (56,000 rubles).
