Bidspirit auction | [Russian Style. Pre-War Verbilki]. Tea

[Russian Style. Pre-War Verbilki]. Tea Cup and Saucer. Dmitrov Porcelain Factory (Verbilki), Russia / USSR, 1917–1940. Porcelain, overglaze polychrome painting, gilt edging, stencil. Mark: on the cup and saucer in blue: ”T. 2 / RSFSR NKMP Dmitrovskaya / st. Verbilki”. Dimensions: cup — height 5.8 cm, diameter 8.3 cm, width including handle 10.8 cm; saucer — height 2.5 cm, diameter 14.5 cm. Condition: very good, approaching excellent; no cracks and no restoration, minimal wear. The cylindrical cup with an elegant geometric handle and the wide saucer are decorated with a band ornament in a Neo-Russian interpretation. Along the pinkish ground of the rim runs a wide scarlet band with an elaborate ”interlaced” pattern: green and white ribbons intertwine with blue rosettes and gilt ties. The composition derives from Gardner services of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries and continues the ”Russian style” line of Verbilki porcelain. The inner rim of the cup is enlivened by a fine undulating ”chain” with gilt edging, lending the décor an intimate, salon character. The Dmitrov Porcelain Factory is situated in the settlement of Verbilki. Its history dates back to 1766, when Franz Gardner founded here the first private porcelain manufactory in Russia. By the early 20th century the enterprise was part of the ”M.S. Kuznetsov Partnership”, and after nationalisation in 1917 it was renamed the Dmitrov Factory. During the Soviet period it produced both mass-market and artistic porcelain, drawing on the traditions of the Gardner ”Russian style”.