 Under
the reign of Catherine II the Imperial Porcelain Factory was
given a twofold task: to produce artistic decorative porcelain
as a new form of Russian art on the one hand, and on the other
to make a profit as a commercial enterprise. Since the demand
on the part of the court for porcelain services was great
and current orders offered an opportunity to work profitably
while maintaining high quality, the factory was able to steer
a middle course.
Contemporaries thought much of Catherinian porcelain and
considered it equal to the paintings and sculptures of famous
masters. "Porcelain nowadays," wrote Georgi in his
description of St. Petersburg in 1794, "is excellent,
both as regards the purity of the china as well as taste,
form and decoration. In the storehouses one may see rather
large, very artistically worked items."
When Tsar Paul I (1796-1801) succeeded to the throne he,
too, continued his mother's interest in the porcelain factory.
At the age of eleven he had visited the works and watched
how porcelain was made and even left his name on a cup that
had been made in his presence. After ascending the throne
he furnished the factory with large orders, paid frequent
visits and delighted in showing it to prominent visitors.
During his reign it became customary to present the imperial
family with gifts for the New Year, Christmas, Easter and
other festivals.
In 1797 the factory established its own casualty station.
Three years later a bread store was built, and most workers
received a bread ration apart from their pay. Ceramic art
continued in its indebtedness to Classicism and thus increasingly
used Greek and Roman motifs. Prince Yusupov continued to administer
the factory, Rachette remained the chief modeller and Sakharov
ran the decorating shop. The taste and predilections of the
tsar and his wife were in the main influenced by Prince Yusupov's
artistic perceptions. He did not possess the talents of a
statesman, like Prince Vyasemski, but he enjoyed the reputation
of a great connoisseur and lover of the arts. For many years
he had traveled through Europe, carried out diplomatic missions
for Catherine II and helped her in the purchase of works of
art. It was thanks to his efforts that agreement was obtained
from the Pope to make copies in the original size of the Raphael
frescoes in the Vatican, which were then housed in a gallery
of the Winter Palace, especially built for this purpose by
Giacomo Quarenghi.
Later Prince Yusupov accompanied the young tsar and his wife
on their European travels where he helped them to acquire
west European objects of art - furniture, Sevres porcelain,
silk from Lyons, French gilt bronzes, paintings, sculptures
- all of which were later to form part of the magnificent
appointments of the palace in Pavlovsk.
 In
contrast to his mother, Paul I ordered a table service for
only eight to twenty people in keeping with his intimate life-style.
At the time "dejeuners" became fashionable - breakfast
services for two persons. The forms were simplified even further
so that their contours began to resemble geometric shapes.
Cups tended to be in the shape of "beaker" or "antique
fashion". In the spirit of classical vessels, tea and
coffee pots, milk jugs and other items took on an elongated
oval shape, terminating in a cylindrical neck and pointed
spout. The painted decoration usually represented Paul I's
memories of his travels or townscapes of Pavlovsk and Gatchina
after drawings and water-colours by famous artists.
The Pauline vases were much taller than the Catherinian ones.
They were underglaze blue, gilded and decorated with biscuit-glazed
sculptures. Easter eggs, looking glass frames, clock cases,
candelabra and writing sets continued to be produced. For
the tsar's personal use a writing set was made with restrained
gilt decoration and the initials "P. I.", which
in its form bears some relationship to the allegories of the
"Arabesques service"
Early in 1801 Paul I commissioned a magnificent toilet set
for the empress, modelled on the toilet set Maria Fyodorovna
had received on her visit to Paris from the French Queen Marie
Antoinette. Descriptions can only give a pale reflection of
this masterpiece, which in combination with the no less magnificent
toilet table of mahogany, decorated with ormulu and biscuit
glaze bas reliefs, formed a harmonious whole. The painted
decoration is attributed to Andrei Voronikhin. Maria Fyodorovna's
toilet set today forms part of the collection of the Palace
Museum of Pavlovsk.
Shortly before moving to his new residence, the Mikhailovski
Palace, the tsar ordered a dejeuner set which had decoration
depicting that palace. The service was extremely effective:
gilded ornamentation in relief overlaid on a glaze with a
mother of pearl sheen, made possible by applying a thin layer
of a special paste onto the porcelain paste. The "Mikhailovski
Palace" service was inaugurated for supper on March 11,
1801. "His Majesty was highly delighted", the page
on duty, remembered of this evening. "He repeatedly kissed
the drawings on the china and said that this was one of the
happiest days of his life." That same night, March 11
to 12, Tsar Paul I was murdered by conspirators.
During the last years of Catherine's and during the whole
of Paul Fs short reign the factory produced more wares than
was necessary to comply with the demands of the court accounting
office. As successor to Prince Vyasemski, Prince Yusupov attempted
to find purchasers of porcelain among the population at large,
but outside St. Petersburg no regular markets existed. Furthermore,
the imperial porcelain was too expensive and was unable to
compete with the products of private companies. Items gathered
dust in shops and warehouses and yet the factory continued
to produce more and more china, getting ever deeper into debt.
Towards the end of the 18th century production was also in
need of renewal. Paul had envisaged changes of this kind and
had sent a commission to the factory, but his unexpected death
put an end to this initiative. Reorganisation was to take
place under Tsar Alexander I (1801-1825).
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