Lot Essay
This service was probably commissioned by Catherine II in 1787 as the first of the Imperial yacht services. It is possible the service was commissioned for Catherine's tour of the Crimea in 1787, organized by Grigorii Potemkin, governor general of that province, annexed in 1783.
The Yacht Service is closely related to the Arabesque Service and may have been used as an addition to that service. For additional pieces from this service see N. Wolff, The Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, 1907, p. 87, illustrated, and A. Odom, Russian Imperial Porcelain at Hillwood, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 32-33.
The Yacht Service is closely related to the Arabesque Service and may have been used as an addition to that service. For additional pieces from this service see N. Wolff, The Imperial Porcelain Factory, St. Petersburg, 1907, p. 87, illustrated, and A. Odom, Russian Imperial Porcelain at Hillwood, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 32-33.