 From
now on, products of German and French manufacture, as well
as casts of Oriental, classical and Russian antiquities, served
the imperial factory as models; famous paintings and porcelain
wares of private factories were copied, and mannered scenes
from everyday life were made. Hardly had Ivan Krylov finished
writing his fable "Demyan's Fish Soup", for instance,
than his heroes were depicted in porcelain. Two Egyptian sphinxes
were erected on the banks of the Neva and immediately the
porcelain Factory responded with a serving dish and a vase
in the Egyptian style. Romantic enthusiasm for everything
medieval produced the service "Alexandria" in the
Gothic manner, and interest in ancient Russian art prompted
the manufacture of porcelain articles following drawings by
the famous archaeologist Fyodor Solntsev, who in turn had
been inspired for the design of his coronation service "Kremlyovski"
by the decoration of enamel plate belonging to Natalia Naryshkina,
mother of Peter the Great.
Technical expertise was now so sophisticated that there was
no problem in reproducing a small bottle from the Chelsea
factory in the shape of a large vase, or by clever coloring
making an item of porcelain look like genuine bronze, jasper,
malachite or coral.
The Petersburg vases of the period were of three basic types:
"Medicis", from the form of the antique crater bowl
from the Medici Collection; the elongated spindle shape "fuseau";
and the egg-shaped vase "bandeau" with a compact
base and a crown-like neck. At the behest of the Court, frames
and consoles for mirrors were produced as well as porcelain
chimneypieces, clock cases, tables, stools, chandeliers and
candelabra. The preferred decoration took the form of applied
flowers in relief. The flower bouquets created by Master Pyotr
Ivanov are internationally considered a peak of achievement.
With incredible realism he fashioned every botanical detail
of each flower, including pollen on the stigma and the veining
on the leaves. These flowers were made of a paste the secret
of which was known only to the master. After his death, the
management of the factory considered it improper to enter
into negotiation with his widow in order to obtain his records,
as she had not been "his legally married spouse".
 The
largest and most original flower bouquet is in the collection
of the factory museum. Legends surrounding it have been passed
from one generation of workers to another. For instance, the
bouquet was said to have been made to be shown at the Great
Exhibition in London in 1851, but no-one brave enough to carry
this fragile object to England could be found. Thus it stayed
in Petersburg. One hundred years later it was claimed that,
during the second World War, the Americans offered to pay
any sum asked for the bouquet, whereupon the Russians demanded:
"How much, do you think, the Isaac Cathedral is worth
or the cast iron gate of the Winter Garden?" The Americans
supposedly had no answer for this and thus the unique bouquet
remained in the factory museum to impress visitors by the
freshness of its porcelain petals and the mystery surrounding
it.
 Not
only did Vasili Dudin and Alexander Novikov compile a repertory
of forms and ornaments during the 1830s and 40s but, under
the direction of V. Mestcheryakov, paintings by Leonardo,
Raphael, Correggio, Rembrandt, Titian, Rubens and others were
copied. Astonishingly true resemblances in color were achieved
between copies and originals which is all the more surprising
since ceramic paints change their color after several firings.
Such decoration based on famous paintings was, as a rule,
applied to vases and flatware, but it had no real relationship
to porcelain. Portraits and pictures of saints were also painted
on vases and plaques. Scenes of warriors and battles were
depicted mostly on plates. Floral painting showed great diversity.
Flowers were painted from nature: the originals were either
produced in the factory's own orangey or the porcelain painters
were sent to the botanical gardens. At the Great Exhibition
in London, the imperial factory's porcelain painting was awarded
a gold medal.
If the imperial factory planned to take part in national
and international fairs it was necessary to establish a sample
collection. For this reason the factory founded its own museum
in 1844. At the same time books on art, drawings and engravings
were collected, and these became the basis for the library
of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
During the reign of Nicholas I representational pieces were
produced in great quantities and included presents for the
Queen of England, the King of Prussia, and other crown princes
and crown princesses.
The predilection of the court for foreign fashion hindered
the factory from seeking its own path in ceramic art; its
overriding ambition was not to be left behind by European
manufacture, and indeed to surpass the latter with extravagant
creations.
The defeat in the Crimean War led to the final collapse of
Nicholas' system of government and after the unexpected demise
of the monarch his eldest son, Alexander II (1855 - 1881),
ascended the Russian throne.
After the tsar's death the entire management of the porcelain
factory was changed again. Professor Alexei Sivkov, from the
Institute of Railway Engineers, an active and energetic man,
was appointed director in 1855, and later also administrator
of the imperial works. It was his aim to turn the Imperial
Porcelain Factory into the leading enterprise of porcelain
production in Russia. Money for this was needed, as well as
an interest on the part of the sovereign. However, following
the failure of the war, no state funds could be expected,
and Alexander II was fully occupied with measures to reform
the country, of which the abolition of serfdom in 1861 was
the most important. One year earlier the workforce at the
porcelain factory was freed from slave labor and were turned
into wage earners, with a ten-hour working day and five hours
on Saturday. At this point the factory village numbered 102
plots, most of which belonged to the families of the workers
and masters. After obtaining their freedom, many continued
to work in the factory, where, however, conditions left much
to be desired, due to lack of interest on the part of the
imperial court.
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