Items,such as these known at the Imperial Porcelain Factory as shaped in antique façon, were inspired by Sèvres models, and in particular by a toilette service presented by Marie-Antoinette to the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna during her visit to France in 1782.
It was during the last year of the reign of Catherine II that the Imperial Porcelain Factory began to produce objects imitating antique vessels using gilt ornamentation and cobalt glaze. Such objects continued to be popular throughout the reign of Paul I and into the first years of Alexander I's rule. Cobalt déjeuner services, similarly shaped, were also listed in the dowries for the Grand Duchesses, the daughters of the Emperor Paul I, Alexandra Pavlovna and Elena Pavlovna.