Sure! Here is the translation: --- **The A. Popov Factory occupies one of the leading places among private porcelain enterprises in Russia in the first half of the 19th century.** The A. Popov Factory occupies one of the leading places among private porcelain enterprises in Russia in the first half of the 19th century. In terms of artistic quality, the porcelain body, and the whiteness of the material, the factory's products stand alongside the famous porcelain of Gardner, the wares of the Kornilov Brothers’ St. Petersburg Factory, and the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Production at the Popov Porcelain Factory developed on the foundation of an enterprise created by Karl Melli—a former Gardner commission agent—in the village of Gorbunovo, Dmitrovsky District, Moscow Province, in 1804. In 1811, Alexei Gavrilovich Popov bought the factory from Melli and thus for a time became the successor to Gardner’s technical accomplishments, although from the very beginning he strove for artistic independence. From its inception, it was a fairly large enterprise: during the 1810s–1840s, it employed an average of 250 people (approximately the same number as at the Imperial Porcelain Factory and the Kornilov Brothers' factory). The A. Popov Factory produced only high-quality porcelain. Its products were distinguished by a wide range of items: dinner and tea sets, vases, inkwells, tavern crockery, porcelain figurines, narrative compositions, animalist sculptures, and other elegant household items. In the 1810s, the Popov Factory drew upon German and French models, mainly in sculpture and vessel shapes. By the 1820s, the factory had developed its own individual characteristics, unique to Popov porcelain. The composition of the porcelain paste used at this factory was especially renowned. As for the themes and nature of the decoration, they generally reflected the broader trends in Russian porcelain of the 19th century. A significant role in the success of A. Popov’s products was played by their own palette of paints, distinguished by richness and sophistication...Here is the translation of your text into English: --- …the palette of tones developed by the laboratory of the factory. The items produced at A. Popov’s factory are characterized by a decorative quality that is understandable even to craftsmen, a delicate sense of color, love of bright, strong, pure paints, of large decorative spots, and of bold, expressive drawing. The popularity of the porcelain produced at A. Popov’s factory explains the fame of its craftsmen. It is known that, for work at the porcelain factory in Arkhangelskoye, Prince Yusupov invited turners and masters specializing in shaping and turning porcelain items from A. Popov’s factory. In addition, ready-made forms for painting were also sent to Arkhangelskoye from this factory (mainly cups with saucers, numerous déjeuners for one or two persons, as well as Easter eggs). In 1831, at the first Moscow Exhibition of Domestic Industry Products, “the factory of nobleman Alexei Gavrilovich Popov with his son Dmitry Alexeevich,” as listed in the catalog, presented its products to the general public for the first time. The newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti wrote at the time: “The hall, decorated with porcelain from... the Popov factories, the Gardner brothers... transports the imagination into the realm of magic... Here, beauty is combined with utility; craft is elevated to the level of fine art. Here the brilliance of painting, harmony, elegance, and taste in the molding of shapes transform coarse materials—sand and clay—into objects of refined luxury, and items of daily and universal use into precious decorations for magnificent palaces.” At this exhibition, porcelain from A. Popov’s factory was awarded a small gold medal. Starting in 1831, A. Popov’s factory participated in all exhibitions of Russian manufactured goods in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1833, Alexei Gavrilovich Popov received the Order of St. Stanislav IV class, and in 1839 and 1841 his son Dmitry Alexeevich was awarded the Order of St. Anna, III class and the Order of St. Vladimir, IV class, for participation in the exhibitions. It should be noted that even in the first half of the 19th century, Popov porcelain was very expensive. For example, …Here is your translation into English: In 1831, dinnerware sets cost from 1,000 to 1,550 rubles, which, in terms of price, was comparable to the products of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, which worked exclusively on orders from the Imperial Court. It is not surprising that such high-level items, usually intended for particularly ceremonial occasions, were produced by the A. Popov factory only on special orders. At the same time, porcelain for everyday use was readily purchased by residents and visitors of Moscow. After the death of Alexei Gavrilovich, the enterprise passed to his children, Dmitry and Tatyana, and soon afterward to Dmitry’s sons. The last owner of the factory in 1875 was the merchant Fomichev. The plaster molds for producing figurines and tableware were sold to the Ikonnikov Factory, and the paint recipes were sold to the Kornilov Brothers’ Factory.
