A set of two covered ice cups from the Saint Georges order porcelain service, Moscow, Gardner manufactory, 18th century, circa 1777-78

one with a polychrome emblem of the order, knotted by a ribbon of the order holding a cross, surrounded by a foliate branches, the lid as a dome with flower garlands, simulated golden gadroons, the handle as a flower, the other ice cup with radiating foliage, the ribbon and the cross of the order of St Georges, the lid topped by a squirrel, marked with the blue letter G underneath the glaze; (one handle refixed, a chip on one lid)

The illustration of the catalogue is accurate. There is a chip to the squirrel's ear on one cup. The handle of the other one has been broken and refixed. There is a 0.5 cm chip to the edge of the lid.
"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."

Commissioned by the Empress Catherine II of Russia, the service of the Order of St. George was delivered in 1778 by Francis Gardner's private manufactory. The set, intended to serve eighty people, cost 6,000 rubles. The decorator GI Kozlov designed this service based on the Berlin porcelain set presented to Catherine II by Frederick II of Prussia in 1772. The four grand services of the Imperial Orders (St. George, St. Andrew, St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Vladimir) were housed in the storerooms of the Winter Palace and each used once a year during the ceremony in honor of the Knights of the correlating Order. The Order of St. George service was first used on 26 November 1778 and for the last time on 26 November 1916.

A large part of this service was kept in the collections of the Hermitage Museum and several items in the collections of the Hillwood Museum in Washington D.C. (K. Taylor, Russian Art at Hillwood, Washington, 1988, Fig. 105, p.72 and L. Nikifora, Russian Porcelain in the Hermitage, Leningrad, 1973 and the recent exhibition at the Hermitage Museum : From the dinner-service storerooms, decorating the Russian Imperial table in the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries, the State Hermitage Museum, 2016, cat.112.4 and 12.5, p.247).