A PORCELAIN PLATE

Prince Nikolai Yusupov, Director of the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the reign of Paul I, founded the Yusupov Porcelain Factory in 1814 on his estate in Archangel'skoe outside of Moscow. The factory was more properly a studio where porcelain blanks from French factories and the Popov factory were painted. The porcelain was never sold but rather presented to the Imperial family and to the Yusopov's circle of friends. The plates were painted with roses copied from the three-volume Les Roses published between 1817 and 1824 by the artist and botanist Pierre-Joseph Redouté, who based his studies on the flowers of the best gardens in Paris. The series of Rose Plates was later rediscovered by Prince Felix Yusupov when he was modernising the estate of Archangel'skoe in 1912.