Sugar bowl (part of a coffee and tea service)
Medium
Hard-paste porcelain
Dimensions
Height (with cover): 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
Russian, St. Petersburg
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Jean Rolston Peacock, 1969
Accession Number
69.162.4a, b
Art Historical Context
This delicate sugar bowl, part of a lavish coffee and tea service, crafted in 1834 by the Porcelain Manufactory St. Petersburg, Russia's premier porcelain workshop founded by Empress Elizabeth in 1744. During the reign of Nicholas I the manufactory produced exquisite pieces for the imperial court and elite clientele, embodying the opulence of Russian neoclassicism blended with Empire style influences. Standing just 4 3/16 inches (10.6 cm) tall with its cover, this diminutive vessel was designed for intimate social rituals, where tea and coffee services symbolized refinement and hospitality in ...
About the Artist
Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg · 1744–present
The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1744 by Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov under the decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, marked Russia's entry into porcelain production as the third such enterprise in Europe after Meissen and Vienna. Vinogradov, a mining engineer educated in Saxony, developed the nation's first hard-paste porcelain formula using local materials, drawi...