A Russian Gilded Silver Oval Serving Dish from the Orlov Service, Nichols and Plinke, St. Petersburg, 1859

of oval shape, the rim chased with laurel leaves and berries and engraved with C-scrolls and stylized flowerheads, the top and bottom of the dish chased with the Russian state coat-of-arms on a matted ground

S.J. Philips, London

with some surface scratches and rubbing to gilding consistent with age
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Empress Catherine the Great commissioned the grandiose Orlov Silver Service designed by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791) and executed by the Parisian silversmiths Jacques Roettiers (1707-1784) and his son Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers (1736-1788/89?) for her own use at court, but by 1772 presented the service to her confidante and adviser, Count Grigorii Orlov. The final service, a triumph of early Neoclassicism, comprised over 3,000 pieces for sixty diners. Delivery of the pieces from Paris continued until 1776, by which time Catherine had broken with Orlov. After his death in 1783, Catherine regained possession of the service. It remained in the imperial collections through the nineteenth century and was supplemented as necessary by court goldsmiths. Nichols and Plincke (1789-1880), the well-known "Magasin Anglais" of St. Petersburg, was responsible for providing many of the additions to the service made in the 1850s. Even with the additions, by the time of Baron Foelkersam's survey of 1907, only 1,000 pieces from the Orlov Service were still held by the court.