On 6 December 2011 a new permanent exhibition “Porcelain of the Soviet and New Period” opened.
Plate for the 5th anniversary of the Red Army
1923
M.M. Adamovich (drawing)
State Porcelain Factory
Porcelain; underglazed monochromatic covering,
overglazed polychromatic paint
with silver patterns
6 December 2011, saw the opening of a new permanent exhibition in the Department of the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory of the State Hermitage Museum, which presents porcelain articles from the time of the Soviet Union, and those that have been created since then at Russia’s oldest porcelain works.
Since earlier the State Hermitage had no permanent exhibition which embraced the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, the selection of exhibits illustrating the post-revolutionary period required an in-depth study and careful structuring of the collection’s materials.
The new exhibition contains around 1000 items, which are of great artistic and historical value and which are arranged thematically and chronologically. This enabled to single out the main stages and distinctive features in porcelain art, which developed in the mainstream of Soviet art. The early period in the history of Soviet porcelain proves to be the most significant. In March 1918 the State Porcelain Factory, formerly known as the Imperial Porcelain Factory, was transferred under the supervision of the People’s Commissariat for Education , which was determined to make it a model of the new art industry.
Porcelain was intended to acquire revolutionary content. The art and technological capacity as well as the production standards, which had developed over the years, were carefully preserved. This ensured the success of the experiment, when highly qualified specialists from different artistic fields became involved in porcelain production. Having been created in the harsh conditions of the Revolution and the Civil War, the art of porcelain became an important cultural phenomen.
