The Orloff Service of Catherine the Great: A set of twelve Louis XV silver-gilt plates, Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers, Paris, 1770

the rims applied with running laurel with acanthus at intervals, the borders chased with the Russian Imperial Arms below a band of Vitruvian scrolls on matted ground

Armin Evgenievich Fölkersamb, Inventaire de l'Argenterie, conservée dans les garde-meubles des palais impériaux, St Petersburg, 1907, vol. II, pp. 60-63.
Treasures Hunt, Memoirs of an Antique Dealer, Jacques Helft, London, 1957, pp. 29-31, illus. pl 3.

All with some scratches from use and with one or more minor dings/creases to centers, gilding rubbed at highlights, otherwise good
"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."

These plates are from the Orloff Service, originally comprising some 3,000 pieces, which was commissioned by Empress Catherine of Russia (1729-1796) from Jaques Roettiers (1707-1789) and his son, Jacques-Nicholas (1736-1788) in Paris. The recipient was the Empress’s favourite, Count Gregory Orloff (Grigory Grigoryevich Orlof, 1734-1783), father of two of her illegitimate children, who is credited with leading the coup which overthrew Catherine’s husband, Peter. The latter reigned as Tsar for just six months in 1762 before his mysterious death. The service, in the newly acceptable neoclassical style, was therefore an important political and cultural statement, simultaneously confirming Orloff’s standing with the Empress and also strengthening her ties with Europe and the latest in Parisian fashions.

After a decade by the Empress’s side, Orloff fell from favour, his health failed and he eventually died at the age of 49 in 1783. The Russian state afterwards purchased the service from Orloff’s heirs at which time (1784) most of the pieces were re-assayed in St. Petersburg. The subsequent fate of the Orloff service included its use, with other items from the imperial treasury, at a number of conspicuous events, including the dinner given for Tsar Nicholas II in Moscow in May 1896. During the 1920s and 1930s parts of the service were sold by the Soviet Government; they are now in number of private as well as in public collections, including the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris, the Gulbenkian Collection in Lisbon and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

A group of 18 matching plates from the Orloff service was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, on 21 May 1992, lot 124. Another 12 were sold at Sotheby’s, Monaco, on 24 June 1976, lot 52; and a further 12 were sold at the same place on 24 June 1976, lot 52.