Characteristics and features of Russian porcelain

Today, in the age of the latest technology, everything changes, keeps up to date, but Russian porcelain remains unchanged and never goes out of style, it is considered the best. Porcelain products are durable and can last for decades. Small figurines fit perfectly into any style of interior. Dishes from it are not only beautiful in themselves, but also have a wonderful history.

There are many enterprises around the world that manufacture porcelain. In the XVIII century, such productions were located in Russia, the Baltic States and Little Russia, and still they produce exclusive products from porcelain and faience.

Today, only in Russia there are several dozens of existing enterprises engaged in the manufacture of porcelain products. These include Gzhel Plant, Dmitrov Plant, South Ural Plant, Imperial Plant and many others. Of all the manufactured products, even original masterpieces that are exhibited at well-known exhibitions are presented, and, of course, all these plants produce common objects.

Some of the plants presented come from old manufactories: Kuznetsov porcelain, Popov porcelain, Imperial and famous Gzhel porcelain.

The whole story began with A.K. Grebenshchikov, it was he who opened the first manufactory in Moscow, engaged in the manufacture of earthenware products, which were of impressive size, they were painted with paints. These products resembled majolica from China or Western Europe at that time. Grebenshchikov produced such products for wealthy sections of society, but there was fake porcelain, it had a fine structure and a certain ringing.

Only the shards of such dishes had a cream shade and were somewhat similar to foreign-made frit porcelain. Today, products of that time are worth seeing in the Sergiev Posad Museum, and they are presented as old models of dishes of that time.

D.I. Vinogradov in 1748 develops real porcelain and takes Gzhel clays as a basis. And it is from this moment that the history of Russian porcelain begins. Gzhel production never belonged to one place, there were many subsidiaries that were engaged in the production of porcelain for general use. In the 19th century, Gzhel craftsmen invented opaque - It was considered a kind of faience, but of high quality, and the dishes from it were thin.

It is worth a little touch on the structure of faience and porcelain: they differ from each other in chemical composition, in the latter more kaolin. And it is this substance that makes the dishes thinner and ringing, like crystal products. Earthenware dishes have a thicker structure and craquelure on the surface, because the material absorbs water and collapses over time. Earthenware is a dense material, the sound is dull, unlike porcelain, which transmits light and rings perfectly.

The first part of the history of Russian porcelain is given in the next video.

Porcelain, which Vinogradov invented, began to be produced at the Imperial factory, he gained his popularity and he had his rivals - Mason and Sevres. Previously, all porcelain enterprises were owned either by the royal houses, or became independent commercial enterprises. In all foreign countries, production was funded by royal families. And in the UK they were presented as a full-fledged commercial manufactory, and all the ruling dynasties could only order for themselves the products of this plant.

In Russia, everything was equal, that is, both of them had their advantages. And all of them could exist either for a short period of time, or stood and produced products for centuries. But if the enterprise ceased to exist, then it merged with another plant or was completely closed. There are several enterprises that are independent industries - these are the plants of Gardner, Popov and Kuznetsov.

Gardner's factory operates at the expense of its previous owner, later he switched to the magnate for the manufacture of porcelain Kuznetsov.

The Dulevo porcelain factory is still operating today; it appeared in 1832 as the heir to Kuznetsov, and he already transferred the factory from Gzhel to Dulevo. It was this plant that was the main one in Russia for the production of porcelain, and Asian countries purchased its products.

In addition to porcelain items, the company was engaged in the production of various products from majolica, garden sculptures, all kinds of appliances and flower pots. In the 2000s, management changed at the manufactory, and the plant was gradually modernized. The shapes of the products from this product remained unchanged, and even decoration takes place according to the recipe of the last century.

The Auerbach factory - now called Konakovsky - was also bought by Kuznetsov in 1870. Today it is engaged in the production of dishes and interior items made of earthenware material. There is another huge enterprise that belongs to the Kuznetsovs family - a factory for the manufacture of porcelain and earthenware in Rybinsk. This manufactory was founded in 1884 by the merchant P. A. Nikitin, but at first this factory produced red bricks, and over time they began to produce porcelain.

Today, this plant is renamed, it is called May Day. All manufactured dishes and Russian porcelain are supplied to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, the dishes have a beautiful decor and are made according to a specific recipe. In general, Kuznetsov, as the creator, devoted a lot of time to discoveries and quality control of manufactured products, tried to acquire only high-quality raw materials, even despite its cost. It was this tycoon who began to unite together all the porcelain manufacturers, and later glass producers, thereby displacing foreign manufacturers from Russian markets.

Apart from the Kuznetsovsk plant, there was also Popovsky, also famous - at this enterprise they made not only dishes, but also beautiful figurines, which are still exhibited in museums. Porcelain from the Popov factory had its own delicate composition and could easily compete with other porcelain factories in Russia. This company was ruled by the inventor of special paint A. G. Popov and his son D. A. Popov, their factory was located in the suburbs of Moscow, the dishes were made for a wide range of users, and for the most part for catering establishments.

This company opened its own laboratory for the manufacture of paints for porcelain, it was the only one in Russia and had a rare color scheme. But the factory ceased to exist when its leaders died: factory workers were all serfs and with the abolition of serfdom, they fled. And the heirs of this property were never able to cope with the management, and the plant had to be closed in 1865.

There is another porcelain factory It was created by Prince Yusupov in 1818. All products from this enterprise were intended for noble people, but it did not last long, since in 1831 the owner died. This company had a certain secret: the prince personally created unique things, and this plant was not in a commercial race. And soon, Prince Yusupov invited masters from the Sevres enterprise of Lambertwho worked only with high-quality materials and upon arrival already had his own individual collection of paintings and graphics.

The history of production of Russian porcelain is very full of various events. There are many factories for the production, some have long ceased to exist, and some still exist and enjoy a certain popularity. Today, many porcelain products have a unique engraving, which is applied as family products, such porcelain is very valuable. In museums you can find old china, which was produced in past centuries.

Any Russian porcelain, whether it is a figurine or a service, will remain in fashion and even after a while it will be a relic transmitted from generation to generation.

Next, see the continuation of the story about the history of Russian porcelain.