a russian porcelain dinner plate from the coronation service of nicholas I, imperial porcelain manufactory, st. petersburg, circa 1826

the interior decorated with a printed image of the state arms, the Imperial double-headed eagle encircled by the chain of the Order of St. Andrew on an ermine-lined mantle surmounted by the Imperial crown, heightened with polychromatic enamels, the border with burnished gilt ciselé trophies of arms and lion masks against a lapis-lazuli blue ground

The Coronation Service for Nicholas I is unusual because pieces from it bear no factory marks, a result of the great urgency with which the commission was completed. After Emperor Alexander I's unexpected death in November 1825, confusion and disagreement over the rightful successor led to the fateful Decembrist uprising among the elite guards regiments. In this uncertain environment, it was essential to complete the official coronation as soon as possible; the ceremony was scheduled for August 22, 1826, giving little time to prepare the ceremonies. To speed the completion of the service, it was decided to use unmarked whiteware from the era of Alexander I. On the service, see Ekaterina Khmelnitskaia, Pod tsarskim venzelem, St. Petersburg, 2007, 142-143.

some minor rubbing to gilding
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