Lomonosov Porcelain Factory: history, products and stamps. Porcelain figurines of the Soviet period

The history of the development of porcelain and faience industry in Russia has been more than 250 years. During this time, she experienced both ups and downs. Lomonosov Porcelain Factory is the oldest enterprise of this branch in the country. It still operates today, but under a different name.

What is the history of Lomonosov Porcelain Factory? What products does he produce today? You will learn about this from our article.

Porcelain of Russia: history of the industry development

Sturdy, resistant to various influences and beautiful externally material called porcelain has long been used to produce dishes and interior items. It is based on four natural components: kaolin, quartz, clay and feldspar. The first "formula" of porcelain was taken by the Chinese in the 7th century. Europeans recipe for its manufacture became known much later - only at the beginning of the XVIII century.

The first in the Russian Empire manufactory for the production of porcelain originated in 1744 in St. Petersburg. This is exactly the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. True, today it has a different name - the Imperial one.

The porcelain and faience industry of Russia in the epoch of the USSR reached an unprecedented development. At that time, around 80 enterprises of this industry operated in our country, which produced goods of predominantly mass consumption. To our great regret, today in Russia only three porcelain factories are fully functioning.

Lomonosov Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg: history and hallmarks

The oldest porcelain factory in Russia is located in the city of St. Petersburg. The year of its foundation is 1744th.

Initially, the company was named the Nevskaya Porcelain Manufactory. From the middle of the 18th century until 1917 the plant was called Imperial, and after the revolution - the State. In 1925 he received a new name: the Leningrad Porcelain Factory named after MV Lomonosov. The shortened version of LFZ has survived to the present day. In 2005, the factory again became known as the Imperial.

At the end of the 19th century, a museum was established at the plant. Under the order of Tsar Alexander III, each order from the imperial family was to be made in two copies - one of them was left in this museum. Thus, his collections consistently and regularly replenished with new works. The Soviet power at the LFZ preserved the Soviet power. Moreover, during the Second World War all his collections were evacuated to the city of Irbit in the Urals.

In the Soviet era, the Leningrad Porcelain Factory was reoriented to produce mass production of medium quality. Enormous editions at the enterprise made utensils, tea sets and figurines. In the 20's and 30's, famous Soviet artists worked at the plant: Ilya Chashnik, Nikolai Suetin, and Kazimir Malevich.

For a long time the plant used a stigma in the form of three intertwined letters: LFZ. Since 1991, under the acronym appeared signature: Made in Russia. Currently, the plant uses a new brand, which depicts a two-headed eagle of blue color. Above the eagle there is an inscription Imperial Porcelain, and under it - the year of the foundation of the plant (1744) and the name of the city in English (St. Petersburg).

Modern products of the plant

To date, the Imperial Porcelain Factory produces over 4,000 items of various products. The range of products is extremely wide. It:

• Service (coffee, table and tea);
• Sculptures and figurines (animalistic, genre, agitational);
• Vases;
• Plates and sockets;
• Teapots and coffee pots;
• Circles;
• Glasses;
• Cups and saucers;
• Ashtrays and much more.

All products are made of hard or bone china, decorated with paintings (under- and overglaze). The company has its own website, where you can learn more about the list of products manufactured by the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. The store at the factory (firm) runs daily, from 10 to 20:00. The address of the store: Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue, 151.

Sculpture of Lomonosov Porcelain Factory

Porcelain figurines made under the LFZ brand are very popular. And not only modern, but also old, Soviet. The latter have a value primarily for collectors.

The sculpture, created in the shops of the Imperial Works, is distinguished by rich painting, filigree study of all details, refinement and individuality of execution. At present the enterprise produces both genre and animalistic sculpture. And the technology of its production has not changed for more than a century: all the figures of the master perform exclusively by hand.

In the early twentieth century, the plant replicated in the biscuit several works by the famous Estonian sculptor Amandus Adamson (in particular, "The Birth of Venus", "Demon", "The Shout of the Soul"). No less famous series of sculptures was created by the enterprise during the period 1907-1917. This is a series called "The Nationalities of Russia". The author of most of her figures was the sculptor Pavel Kamensky. In 2007, the Imperial Porcelain Factory recreated 36 (out of 74) sculptures from this series.

LFZ: top-5 most expensive figurines

At the present time, Russians (and also residents of other post-Soviet countries) have aroused a great interest in Soviet porcelain. In particular, to the statuettes. On various sites and collectors' forums, you can sell or buy the figures of the Leningrad plant.

We analyzed several such specialized Internet resources and identified the five most expensive for the price statuettes of the Soviet-era LFZ:

• "Stepan Razin," the 1960s (the approximate price is 85,000 rubles).
• "Hooligan with a balalaika", 1970s (75,000 rubles).
• "Welder", the 1970s (67,000 rubles).
• "A Boy with ABC," 1950s (65,000 rubles).
• "Vakula on the line", 1950s (56,000 rubles).