GARDNER’S PORCELAIN SCULPTURE ‘A PEASANT MAN WITH A CHILD’ Moscow, Dmitrovskaya Factory in Verbilki, circa 1930-40

blue mark of Dmitrovskaya Factory in Verbilki, former Gardner’s Porcelain Factory (on the underside) Biscuit, polychrome painting H. 20 cm The Verbilki Manufactory was founded in 1754 by Englishman Franz Gardner and for more than two centuries has been creating masterpieces of porcelain art that became a decoration of imperial palaces in Russia and Europe. The trademark of Verbilki Manufactures was the ‘personalized’ services decorated with coats of arms of aristocratic families, noblemen's crowns, monograms and monograms. In 1856 the Verbilki Manufactory Gardner received the title ‘Supplier to His Imperial Majesty's Court’. During the times of the USSR, the products of the factory, the name of which was changed twice (‘Autonomous Republican Dmitrov Porcelain Factory’, ‘Dmitrov State Factory in Verbilki’), were recognised and loved by the citizens of the country, as well as by foreign buyers, for their high quality and artistic craftsmanship.