English: An Unusual and Rare Russian Porcelain Plate from a Military Service, Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, 1829

the reverse titled Les Grenadiers du Palais,

dated 1829, and signed by the painter P. Shchetinin; also with blue Imperial cypher of Nicholas I

Porcelain diameter 9 3/8 in.; 24 cm

the cavetto painted with a view of four members of the Imperial Palace Grenadiers standing in the Throne Room of Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna in the Winter Palace, two ladies in white court dress can be seen disappearing through a doorway in the far distance; the border in tooled matte and burnished gold double-headed eagles representing one of the two versions of the State coat-of-arms during the reign of Nicholas I alternating with military trophies comprising the Grenadiers' distinctive bear skin hats with crossed rifle and saber set against a branch of laurel.

Of all the military duties of different regiments shown on the magnificent series of military plates made at the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, guarding the Imperial family was surely the most prestigious. While the great majority of the plates show Russian officers and soldiers on maneuvers or at rest, the design for this plate is one of a few rare examples of a group of officers in a palace interior. The Palace Grenadiers had only just been formed in 1827 from junior officers of various Guard Regiments which had distinguished themselves during the Napoleonic Wars. The Emperor's decree of 2 (15) September 1827 establishing the new company explained their importance and role: "Wishing to mark My particular goodwill to those members of the lower ranks of the Life Guards, which demonstrated their courage in the Napoleonic Wars and have continued their faithful service and distinguished themselves by their diligence up to the very expiry of their term of service, I recognized the good of organizing from them at My court a special company under the name of the Palace Grenadiers so that they have been provided for throughout their lives and that their service will consist only of police surveillance in the Palaces where I will be staying." The role was much more than ceremonial; several members of the Palace Grenadiers died in the 1880 bombing of the Winter Palace in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Emperor Alexander III.

Of equal interest is the interior in which they are shown: the Throne Room of Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna (1759-1828) designed by Auguste de Montferrand (1786-1858) when Maria Fedorovna's rooms in the Winter Palace were renovated in 1827 and 1828. The image on the plate is both beautiful and intriguing; the eye is drawn into the space by the two court ladies disappearing into a doorway in the background. Thus it is no surprise that the same composition was reproduced on one of a magnificent pair of vases dated 1830 and given by Emperor Nicholas I to Casimir-Louis-Victurnien de Rochechouart, Prince de Tonnay-Charente, duc de Mortemart (1787-1875), the French Ambassador to Russia from 1828 to 1830 and again from 1830 to 1833 (see Sotheby's London, November 28, 2006, lot 226). Another version of the vases with a view of the Palace Grenadiers in Maria Fedorovna's Throne Room and in the 1812 Gallery was kept in the Porcelain Manufactory and eventually included in the institution's museum of works intended to showcase the factory's greatest production and to educate the taste and eye of future painters and sculptors. For these vases, see Geraldika na russkom farfore, St. Petersburg, 2008, pp. 90-91, cat. 19. This series of plates was commissioned in 1827 and many of the designs were made in sets of two so that one set was available to be given as an imperial gift. Another version of this plate, also dated 1829 and signed by factory painter Petr Shchetinin (1806-?) is in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum. See T. Kudriavtseva, Russian Imperial Porcelain, St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 152.