The Imperial Porcelain Manufactory and its museum is a unique place where the history and culture of Russia has been embodied in porcelain for almost three centuries.

 The IPM museum was established in 1844 by decree of Nicholas I as a repository of art pieces worth exploring and replicating. It was launched long before such famous treasuries of art as Tretyakov Gallery and Russian Museum. Its unique collection illustrating the 270-years’ history of the first porcelain manufactory in Russia numbers over 30 thousand displays, including imperial porcelain and glass, Soviet attributes, products of famous European manufactories and Russian private plants, Japanese and Chinese porcelain. The museum library founded in the second half of the 19th century, features rare books on porcelain and arts as well as sketches and other works by world-known artists.

Pursuant to the order of Alexander III, the manufactory started replicating the porcelain made for the imperial family in the late 19th century to keep a copy in the museum. This tradition continued in the Soviet period, from 1920s till the last decade of the 20th century. The museum collection left the IPM premises twice: to keep it intact, the collection was moved to Petrozavodsk in autumn 1917 and evacuated to Irbit, the Urals, during World War II and the Siege of Leningrad.

Taken under the care of the State Hermitage in 2001, the collection now covers two halls, and follows the developments of porcelain production in Russia from the earliest imitations of foreign models to the blossoming of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the 19th century, and includes a constantly rotating selection of unique pieces from the museum's formidable stocks, presented in a smart, modern space with clear labeling.

Participants: min. 5 - max. 16
Costs: 300 rub. a person for the entrance ticket + 2000 rub. for the excursion (shared by all participants). Please note, when you sign up you are responsible for the cost of the tour.

Please sign up before Monday January 28th, 17:00.  To sign up please fill in the form below.