Lot 139
  • 139

A PORCELAIN PLATE FROM THE TSAR NICHOLAS I SERVICE, COALPORT, ENGLAND, CIRCA 1845 |

Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • diameter: 25.3cm, 10in.
circular, with gilt scalloped rim, the cavetto painted with the badge of the Order of St Andrew on white ground, the blue border decorated with the badges of the Orders of St George, St Alexander Nevsky, St Vladimir, the White Eagle, St Stanislaus and St Anne within shaped gilt cartouches, with mark for Coalport with a Royal Warrant and retailer's banner for A. B. and R. P. Daniell, London

Condition

Overall in good condition, with a handful of firing flaws and small surface scratches
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Catalogue Note

This finely decorated dessert plate, together with a further sixty-two pieces, was commissioned by Queen Victoria as a gift to the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, on the occasion of his state visit to England in 1844. The complete service was delivered to St. Petersburg in 1845. The Emperor was so impressed that he ordered one hundred twenty-four additional pieces from the Imperial Porcelain Factory.    

The Times, in its May 26, 1845 article discusses the service: 'A dessert service, of the finest porcelain, has just been completed by command of Her Majesty by the Messrs. Daniell, of Wigmore-street and New Bond-street, to be presented to the Emperor of Russia. The service is for 60 persons; it is highly credible to the manufactories of this country, and displays, both in the shape of the various pieces of which it consists, the brilliancy of the colours, and the splendour of the gilding, a great advance both in the art of design and the mechanical processes or preparing the clay and producing the enamel of the surface.'

A dessert plate from this service was exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.