Russian pottery and porcelain marks

Many Russian pottery and porcelain manufactures are not shown here. Porcelain was first made at St. Petersburg about 1743. Little is known of the early marking.

 

St. Petersburg (1-21)

1-3 Early marks. After 1743. Porcelain; 4-6 Catherine II. 1762-96; 7 Emperor Paul. 1796-1801 

8 Alexander I. 1801-1825. 9 Nicholas I. 1825-1855. 10-11 Alexander II. 1855-1871.12-15 Alexander II. 1871-1881. Starting with 1871, one dot was added to the mark yearly.16, 17 Korniloff Brothers. From 1825.18-21 Gardner. From 1758. At Moscow from about 1780. 18, 19 in blue.

Miscellaneous (22-32)

22 Mezer at Baranovka. From 1804. Porcelain. Mark stamped. 23-26 A. Popoff in Moscow. 1806-1872. Porcelain. Marks 25 and 26 are questionable 27 Kiev. M. Gulina. Porcelain. 28 Kiev. 29 Nicholas II. St. Petersburg. From 1894 30 Mezer at Baranovka. From 1804. Porcelain. 31 S. T. Kuznetsoff. St. Petersburg. 32 Stawsk. 1843-47. Pottery.

Japanese inro, ojime and netsuke

The inro was attached to the waist via a cord. On this cord was a bead (an ojime) and a carved figure (a netsuke) that were used as fasteners. This box is decorated with a lobster design.

On the picture below is a superb example and was bought in a charity shop a year ago for 50p. The value is about £3,000-£5,000.

In the 19th Century, Japanese people used to carry small objects, such as seals and medicines, in a small lacquered box known as an inro.

Inro ('seal-basket’) are small decorative containers that hang from the waist. They originated at the end of the sixteenth century and were worn by men to hold seals and herbal and other medicines. They were considered a particularly good way of keeping the contents sealed and fresh. By the eighteenth century they had become decorative accessories and were commissioned by the merchant class, provincial rulers and their samurai, and those that could afford them.