Two Porcelain Plates from the Orlov service, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, Period of Catherine II (1762-1796), circa 1760

shaped circular, the cavettos decorated with interlaced and crowned gilt Cyrillic monogram GGO, within laurel and palm branches tied beneath, the raised border with moulded and ciselé gilt inner band with blue pellets and with ciselé silver landscape frieze, with impressed symbols and black Imperial Eagle and No. 1.

One of the plates has two chips to the shaped rim. The silver has tarnished and there is wear to the silver decoration. These are very rare plates in overall good condition 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The offered plates form part of a magnificent porcelain toilette service bestowed by the Empress Catherine II of Russia on her favourite Grigory Orlov. It was commissioned from the Imperial Porcelain factory in the early years of Catherine's reign, possibly in 1765 when Orlov was appointed Chief of Ordinance and when Catherine reorganised the factory. The service is decorated with the cypher of Count Grigory Grigorievich Orlov in interlacing gold Cyrillic letters. On less ornate parts of the service, including the plates, this cypher is enclosed in a wreath that is tied with ribbons at the top and surmounted by a nine-point crown of a Count - the title he was given on the day of Catherine's coronation in September 1762.

It is one of the few services produced during the first period of the factory which bears the Imperial Eagle mark. The service numbers approximately three hundred pieces in total yet it appears to have been unknown in Russia until 1912, when part of the service from the collection of Count V.A. Orlov-Davydov was included in the St. Petersburg exhibition Lomonosov and the Time of Elizabeth. Much of the service was taken out of the country by Orlov's descendants during the nineteenth century. For an unusually large selection of porcelain from this service see: Sotheby's, London, The Rostropovich Collection, 18^th September 2007, lot 64.