A St. Petersburg porcelain sauce boat from the wedding service of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
Of narrow section with a flared rim on an oval base. Decorated to the upper edge with roses and Classical rosette motifs en grisaille reserved on gilt ground. Below the spout an oval medallion with a view of the harbour of what is now Porto Empedocle in Sicily, annotated in black "Vue du Port ou Mole de Girgenti." Blue crowned Cyrillic P mark, incised marks. Minimal wear to the gilt edging. H 14.8 cm.
Imperial Manufactory St. Petersburg, fired before 1801, decorated 1804.
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna Romanova of Russia (1786 - 1859) was the daughter of Tsar Paul I and Tsarina Maria Fjodorovna, born Princess Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg. She was married to Crown Prince Carl Friedrich of Saxony-Weimar in St. Petersburg in 1804. The lots shown here belong to the service commissioned from the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory in St. Petersburg on occasion of their marriage. The forms and decor used, showing ancient ruins, derive from those of the cabinet service that was produced in 1795, the final year of Catherine II's life. The manufactory director of the time, Prince Jussupov, is known to have advised Pavel Petrovich, the later Tsar Paul I, as he was considered a connoisseur of art with a great love of antiquity.
The two elder Romanov sisters received very similar services decorated with views of the Grand Tour on occasion of their weddings. Alexandra Pavlovna was married to the Austrian Grand Duke Joseph on 13th October 1799, and Helena Pavlovna was wed shortly after to Crown Prince Frederick Ludwig of Mecklenburg on 23rd October 1799. Parts of the Mecklenburg dowry can be found in the State Museums of Schwerin, Ludwigslust, and Güstrow. It is assumed that Tsar Paul ordered the firing of all his daughters' dowry services after 1799, which explains the earlier marks. Tsar Paul was assassinated on 24th March 1801, and thus no longer witnessed the marriage of his third youngest daughter Maria. The decoration of her wedding service, which proved unique despite following that of the two preceding it, was realised during the reign of Tsar Alexander.
Literature
For the cabinet service cf. cat.: 250 Jahre Lomonossow Porzellanmanufaktur St. Petersburg, p. 20 f.