Porcelain factory of the rulers

The foundation of the plant -1766

In 1766, the English merchant Francis Gardner began to create a porcelain manufactory in Verbilki. The factory was well located, as there were large deposits of good clay in that place, and the locals had been engaged in pottery for a long time. The factory was opened only in 1767, after specialists were brought to lead the production: from Saxony - chemist Franz Xavier Gattenberger and artist Johann Kestner and several craftsmen from Thuringia. Despite the fact that the factory was smaller in size than the Imperial One, it was not inferior to it in the quality of products and received many orders for the royal court. In 1775, a service with miniatures depicting the victory of Russian troops over Turkish ones was made for Catherine II. This service won the approval of the court, and in 1778 the factory received an order for four new sets for three hundred and eighty persons. They were named after the highest orders of that time: St. George, St. Vladimir, St. Andrew and St. Alexander Nevsky. These sets were intended for the court receptions of the knights of these orders during the celebration of the patrons of the orders. The main motif of the decor was the ribbon of the order bordering the dishes, and the order placed in the center of each item. The orders were embossed on baskets and vases. Since such sets were extremely spectacular and it was ordered to produce them only for the needs of the royal court, Gardner also released another version for general sale. He replaced the orders with flowers, and the order ribbons began to be painted in a different color.

Another interesting product of this factory was a series of dishes, mainly cups and saucers, with portraits of the heroes of the war of 1812, most often with a portrait of the chief commander Field Marshal Kutuzov. Gardner's factory became the leading one in Russia, because unlike the imperial one, it was not burdened with a bureaucratic apparatus, and could better adapt to the needs of the market. The level of its products was equal to the best European enterprises. However, its products were purely Russian in nature, all modern events echoed on the theme of the decor. The production of figurines was particularly interesting. Most often, they depicted life in Russia: historical images, artists, heroes of literary works, as well as women. But the most important were the numerous folk types:merchants, artisans, postmen, peasants, cabmen, etc. Regardless of their artistic value, they represent valuable historical material.

In 1870, the manufactory received the privilege to mark its products with the state emblem. In addition to the eagle, a brand name was put in different graphic versions.

In 1892, the factory was bought by the Kuznetsov Concern, which received the right to use Gardner's brands. This concern produced mass and cheap products, but without great artistic ambitions. In such conditions, the level of Gardner's products decreased.

After the revolution, the factory was named "Dmitrov Porcelain Factory" and continued the tradition of producing good artistic products. In 1960, the same factory sign was installed, its color was as follows: for the first grade - red, for the second - blue, for the third - green, for rejected products - brown.