A Russian Porcelain Fruit Basket and Stand from the Dowry Service of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, Period of Alexander I (1801-1825)

the oval basket with sides pierced in a latticework design, the upper border painting with colorful flowers, raised on an oval stand with the border pierced and gilded en suite with the basket.

Sotheby's New York, December 15, 1987, lot 209, illustrated

with some minor losses to gilding and firing flaws; the foot of the basket with several small chips
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.

The porcelain Dowry services for the granddaughters of Catherine the Great are based on the forms and decoration of the Cabinet Service (see lots 31 and 32), the largest and and one of the most important of the grand services produced at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Comprising over 900 pieces, the service included many complex forms necessary for serving dinner, dessert, and tea. The Cabinet and Dowry Services included a number of pierced baskets on stands whose intricacy of form were a testament to the skills of the factory's sculptors and modelers. Because the services were taken abroad as each Grand Duchess married, many of the serving pieces have become separated from their stands and the offered lot is a rare exception.

The Dowry Service for Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna (1788-1818) was finished between 1799 and 1802 and thus bears marks from both the era of Emperors Paul I (r. 1796-1801) and Alexander I (r. 1801-1825). Although the service was completed well before her marriage to Prince Peter Friedrich Georg of Oldenburg (1784-1812) in 1808, it is often called the Württemburg Service because of her second marriage to Wilhelm of Württemburg after the death of her first husband. Upon her remarriage, she moved her household, including the porcelain and other luxury items from her dowry, to her new home in Stuttgart. For similar pierced baskets and stands, see N.B. von Wolf (ed. T.N. Nosovich), Imperatorskii farforovyi zavod, 1744-1904, St. Petersburg, 2003, fig. 126, p 85; for a basket and stand of comparable form decorated with cornflowers, see G. Agarkova and N. Petrova, 250 Years of Lomonosov Porcelain Manufacture, St. Petersburg: 1744-1994, St. Petersburg, 1994, p. 42.