Tea steamer "Forget-me-nots", Gardner's Factory in Moscow

Porcelain, decal, gilding. The brand is underglaze. Form 299. The diameter of the saucer is 137 mm, the mouth of the cup is 74 mm, the height of the cup is 52 mm. Guarantee of authenticity. Rare.

The Gardner Manufactory in Verbilki porcelain factory was founded in 1754 by the Englishman Franz Gardner and for more than two centuries created masterpieces of porcelain art that became the decoration of the imperial palaces of Russia and Europe. Before opening his factory, Gardner traveled a lot around Russia in search of a special clay for porcelain production, the best turned out to be the so-called Glukhovskaya clay, which he found in the Chernigov region of Little Russia. Having solved the issue of raw materials, Gardner set himself the goal of providing the Empire with his own porcelain tableware, setting up its large-scale production. Gardner's eldest son and professor of the University of Geneva, Franz Gattenberg, took part in the organization of the factory, who was soon called to St. Petersburg to head the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The Franz Gardner factory was located in the small village of Verbilki, Dmitrovsky district, Moscow province, and produced magnificent porcelain that was not inferior in quality to European porcelain. The factory was also famous for its magnificent sculpture, which decorated the interiors of many of the richest houses in Russia and Europe.

The porcelain was originally European, as Gardner invited the first masters from the same famous Saxon Meissen. One of them was Johann Miller, who had already worked at the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg under the direction of Dmitry Vinogradov. Along with the "exclusive" designed for imperial palaces and houses of the highest aristocracy, Gardner, who had a natural gift for commerce, fulfilled his promise and managed to establish mass production of porcelain tableware. It was highly valued in Russia, and many who could not afford to buy imported Saxon porcelain were willing to purchase their "native" Gardner porcelain. We had to expand production: if in 1771 70 people worked at the Verbilki factory, then this number doubled over the decade. Moreover, of the one and a half hundred employees, only the manager and the artist were foreigners.

After the death of Franz Gardner, his brainchild was considered the best private porcelain factory in Russia. The business was continued by the heirs, in particular, the plant passed to the eldest son Franz Frantsevich, who briefly outlived his father. Then to Gardner's wife, Sarah Alexandrovna, who was unable to properly manage the inheritance. At the beginning of the 19th century, the factory passed to her sons, Alexander Frantsevich and Peter Frantsevich, who managed to revive production.

In the 19th century, despite the appearance of other private factories, the Gardner Manufactory in Verbilki continued to occupy a leading position in the production of fashionable porcelain. The subject of porcelain paintings in those days was unusually wide. Urban landscapes, images of famous contemporaries, for example, participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 or famous beauties, as well as typical portraits of heroes of books and even fashion magazines, were in great demand.

The business card of Gardner Manufactories in Verbilki became "personalized" sets decorated with coats of arms of aristocratic families, noble crowns, monograms and monograms. For the high appreciation of the products commissioned by Catherine II, in 1785 the factory received from the Moscow governor the right to put the image of the Moscow coat of arms on its products, and in 1855, by decision of the emperor, the State Coat of Arms of Russia. The right to use the image of the State Coat of Arms of Russia on the products of Gardner Manufactories in Verbilki was confirmed in 1865, 1872, 1882, 1896. Since 1856, the Gardner Manufactory in Verbilki has held the title of "Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty."

The company's revival in Verbilki occurred in the last decade of the 19th century. This was due to the appearance of a new player on the Russian porcelain market. In 1892, the factory was bought by Matvey Kuznetsov and successfully integrated into his "M. S. Kuznetsov Porcelain and Earthenware Production Partnership".

At the time of purchase, the factory was going through hard times, so Kuznetsov easily reached an agreement with Elizabeth Gardner, who sold her business for 238 thousand rubles, and for 500 rubles all factory models, molds, drawings and samples. Matvey Kuznetsov turned out to be the owner of not only a new company, but also a first-class trademark with a century and a half of history, rich traditions, qualified specialists, and proven technologies. With the transfer of the factory into the hands of Kuznetsov, production increased. Being a good businessman, Kuznetsov did not want to lose regular customers for Gardner porcelain, and therefore, until the 1917 revolution, he branded the products with Gardner's stamp. It was on these terms that the factory was sold to him. Matvey Kuznetsov systematically published price lists of his products. The last price list was issued on March 1, 1917.