Online Event from the Imperial Porcelain Factory – “IFZ at Home”

Researchers from the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture and porcelain restorers have taken part in the online event “IFZ at Home” presented on the social media of the Imperial Porcelain Factory (abbreviated to IFZ in Russian) joint-stock company that told about porcelain objects that have become a part of our daily lives.

Created in 1744 by decree of Empress Elizabeth, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was the first place in Russia to produce the ceramic described at that time as “white gold”, indeed it was here that the secret of making it was discovered in this country. The factory was owned by the imperial family, worked on commissions from His Imperial Majesty’s Cabinet and was closely connected with the court.

One element of the productive collaboration between the Hermitage and the present-day factory is the annual exhibitions in the Christmas Gift series that has become a continuation of the tradition revived by the museum, when the best works produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in Saint Petersburg were displayed in the Winter Palace as the Christmas holidays approached.

We invite you to view a short video made as part of the “IFZ at Home” event narrated by Irina Bagdasarova, the Keeper of the State Hermitage’s collection of Russian porcelain, and also remind you that you have the opportunity to take a virtual stroll around the recent exhibition “An Alliance of the Arts. On the 275th Anniversary of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory” on the Hermitage’s social media sites.