Factory Descriptions

Click on the factory name below to see the description of the factory

Artemovski

Russia

Astrakhan

Russia

Founded 1991. Scitalis Porcelain

Factory

Aon the mouth of the Volga river at

the border of the CaspicSea

Baku

Azerbaijan

Baranivka

Zhitomir region

Ukraine

Founded 1805. Real name is "

Baranivka Porcelain Factory named after Lenin"

Bogdanovich

Sverdlovsk region

Russia

Founded 1973

Budy

City of Kharkov

Ukraine

Founded 1867

Budyanskiy Faience Factory

"Sickle and Hammer".

The factory was founded by M.S.

Kuznetsov in 1887 in the village of Budy of Kharkov district of Kharkov province on the place of distillery,

which belonged to the rural landowner Kotlyar. It was nationalized after 1917.

Production of faience articles was restarted in 1920-1921 (up to this time the

factory was not working). The factory was a part of the All-Ukrainian

Porcelain-Faience-Glass Trust. It was destroyed during the years of World War

II; production was restored by 1953. Since the 1950s it has been producing plates

and dishes of mass demand.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Chudova

Chudova - Gruzino district in the Novgorod region

Russia

Founded in 1900. Real name is Krasniy

Farforist (Red Porcelain Maker)

Dobrush

Belarus

Dovbish

Zhitomir region

Ukraine

Founded 1855

Druzhkovka

Donetsk region

Ukraine

Founded 1971. Real name is " The

Druzhkovka Porcelain Factory named after (in honour of) 50 years of the

CCCP"

Dulevo

DZ

Moscow region

Russia

The factory was founded in 1832 in

Dulevo of Pokrovskiy district of Vladimir province (since 1937 Likino-Dulevo of

Orekhovo -Zuevo district of Moscow region) by peasant T.Y. Kuznetsov. Since

1889 was owned by the association of M.S. Kuznetsov. It was nationalized and

reconstructed after the revolution. In 1924 it was given the name of newspaper

Pravda. In 1934 the laboratory was organized attached to the factory. At

present porcelain table and tea dishes and sculpture are still manufactured

there

Dulevskiy Porcelain Factory (Duleyvo,

Dulevo).

The factory was founded in 1832 in

the waste lands of Dulevo of Pokrovskiy district of Vladimir province (since

1937 Likino-Dulevo of Orekhovo -Zuevo dostrict of Moscow region) by peasant T.Y. Kuznetsov. Since 1889 was owned by the

association of M.S. Kuznetsov. It was nationalized and reconstructed after

revolution. In 1924 it was given the name of newspaper Pravda. In 1934 the

laboratory was organized attached to the factory. At present porcelain table

and tea dishes and sculpture are manufactured there.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Energi F

Znergia F

Gardner

Verbilki at Moscow

Russia

The Gardner porcelain factory is named after the Englishman, Francis Gardner,

who  arrived to Russia in 1746 with the business plan to manufacture porcelain.

The place where he chose to open the

factory was a small town Verbilky at Moscow suburbs.  At 1723 Peter the Great,

the Russian Czar issued a decree to support porcelain manufactures in Russia. A permission was required to open a factorye and that

permission was issued to Gardner at 1766

only. But Gardner did not wait for that permission and begun producing

porcelain before that date. Thus, in order not to be noticed, Gardner used the logo of Meissen porcelain.

This was not a big lie, because Meissen masters was

working for Gardner.

Once the permission was issued, Gardner decided to launch advertisements. The best one at that time was that Czar

court used the manufactured items. Thus he gave a present to the Russian Czar -

at that time it was Katherine II, and next - she ordered more porcelain from Gardner. That was the start of really successful manufacturing.

AS before the permission was issued, Gardner continued with Meissen copies. But

time after time the arts changed and items became more Russian than they were

at the beginning. Russian fairy tales, Russian motives are well noticed on Gardner items. As well as Meissen roots.

But nusiness was not too successful

and competitors appeared. At 1891 the factory was sold to the Russian

businessman, M. C. Kuznetsov.

Kuznetsov's policy was to produce

porcelain for the masses and the factory begun to produce items for everyday

use. Kuznetsov continued to place Gardner logo on the

itmes, despite the change of ownership.

And nowadays, elite hand-made items

produced at Verbilki has that old Gardner logo.

Georgien

Georgien

Gorodnitsa

LGFZ

Zhitomir region

Ukraine

Founded 1807. Real name is " The

Gorodnitsa Porcelain Factory named after Komentern"

Gorodnitskiy Porcelain Factory named

after Comintern (Gorobnica, Gorodnitsa, Gorodnitsa Porcelain Factory) .

The factory was founded in 1807 in

the settlement of Gorodnitsa of Novogradvolynskiy district of Volyn province as

the daughter enterprise of Koretskaya textile mill. In 1814 it was passed to

Prince Heinrich Lyubomirskiy. In 1856 the factory was acquired by V.

Rulikovskiy. At the end 1870 the fire took place, and the factory was sold to a

land bank. Further it was owned by R. Bosse, and S. Gizhitskiy, who granted it

on lease to merchants, the Zusmans. The factory did not work after 1917. It was

restored in 1923. In recent years it was reconstructed and reorganized into the

collective enterprise.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Gzhel

Moscow region

Russia

Gzhel is the name of one of the major

porcelains centres of Russia. Down the years, the potters of Gzhel have maintained their unique

traditional style. From one generation to another, they handed down their

skills. This handmade and hand painted blue and white or multicolor Russian

china was first mentioned in the 14th century, and is now produced in an area

about 50 kilometers from Moscow.

Gzhel is a name of the small city

near Moscow, there this world-famous handicraft was born. Also it is the

name for artistic ceramics painted with cobalt on a white background. The

origin of this name is connected with the verb zhech - "to fire, to

burn". The place has always been the center of folk pottery and has played

an important role in the history and development of Russian ceramic arts. The

history of Gzhel began with majolica of the 18th century, which was followed in

the 19th century by half-faience, porcelain and thinly wrought faience. It took

Gzhel only about fifty years to take up all principal types of earthenware.

Hantimaisiysk

Siberia

Russia

Ikonnikov

Russia

Imperial Porcelain Private Factory

Jessen

Latvia

Founded in 1886

Kasakhstan

Kasakhstan

Khitinsky

Irkutsk region

Russia

Founded 1869

Khrapunov - Noviy Porcelain Factory

Seen porcelain from 1850 - 1930 so far

Kiev

Ukraine

Founded 1924

Closed down as porcelain factory

spring 2006. All moulds for figures was destroyed. The factory was sold to a

South Korean electronic company producsing televisions etc.

Kiova

Kirovabad

Azerbaijan

Founded in 1972. The Kirovabad

Porcelain Factory commemorating 50 years of Soviet Azerbaijan

Kirovskiy

Pesochnya of Zhidrinskiy district of

Kaluga province

Russia

Pesochenskaya Faience Factory

(Kirovskiy Faience Factory).

The factory was founded in 1851 in

the village of Pesochnya (since 1936 Kirov of Kaluga province) of Zhizdrinskiy district of Kaluga province by Sergey Ivanovich

Maltsov. In 1877 The Maltsov's Industrial Commercial Comradeship was founded,

which managed the factory; in 1886 the government administration was formed, in

1889 competitive control was organized, and in 1892 the joint-stock company of

the Maltsov's factorys was founded. Since 1889 the factory was leased by the

comradeship of M.S. Kuznetsov, into property of which it was passed in 1911. In

1918 it was nationalized. In 1936 the factory was renamed as the Kirovskiy

Faience factory.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Kislovodsk

Russia

Konakova

ZIK

Tver region

Russia

Founded 1809. Real name is " The

Porcelain Factory named after Kalinin".

Mikhail Kalinin was the chairman of the All-Union Executive Committee ie. A

titular head of state from 1919.

Konakovskiy Porcelain Factory named

after M.I. Kirov (Konakova, Konakovo).

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Kornilov

Russia

Earlier name for Leningrad No 2.

Originally Kornilov Bros Porcelain. Founded in 1835. Won a gold medal at the Moscow ceramic exhibition in 1839. Kornilov Bros became the purveyor to the Imperial Court in 1843. In 1886 Kornilov Bros started the export of

porcelain abroad with shops in Paris, while in

the USA and Canada the porcelain was distributed by Tiffanys.

Korosten

Zhitomir region

Ukraine

Founded 1903. Real name is "

Korosten Porcelain Factory named after Dzerzhinsky"

Kosov

near Ivano-Frankovsk

Ukraine

Krasnodar

Near shores of the Black Sea

Russia

Krasnodar is a populat tourist destination near the shores of The

Black Sea

Krasnyi Farforist

Chudovo district of Novgorod region

Russia

Gruzino Porcelain and Faience Factory

"Red Farforist".

The factory was found in 1900 in

Chudovo near the village of Gruzino of Novgorod district of Novgorod province

by I.E. Kuznetsov (now it is the settlement of Krasnofarfornyy of Chudovo

district of Novgorod region). In 1918 it was nationalized. Production was

renewed in the beginning of the 1920s. During July of 1942 the factory was

evacuated into Saraktash (Orenburzhye); after World War II the work was

recommenced. At present it is reorganized into the closed joint-stock company.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Kusyevsky

Kuznetsov

Russia

There were over 60 Kuznetsov

factories each with their own mark, which usually features the name of the

factory

Leningrad Ceramics Factory

Russia

Operating between 1919 and 1941

Leningrad No 2

LZFI - SPFZ

Sankt Petersborg

Russia

Leningradskiy Experimental Factory

(LOZ, LZFI, Leningrad Factory No.2 ).

It was founded in the 1920s attached

to the All-Russian Research Institute of Porcelain and Faience. Technical

articles were produced there and then production of porcelain and faience

plates, dishes and sculpture began. Initially it was called Leningradskiy

Factory of Porcelain Articles, and then Leningradskiy Experimental factory. It

was closed in the 1990s.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

The Kornyloff factory, started in

1835 by two brothers of a merchant family in Petersburg, engaged skilled artists and crafts men from the Imperial, Gardner, and Popov factories. It quickly acquired a reputation for artistic

excellence, and as early as 1839 won a gold medal at the Moscow ceramic exhibition. The owners spared no expense and trouble to bring

their products to perfection, and for this purpose commissioned original

drawings from leading artists of the day. The gorgeous colouring, rich gilding,

and decorative finesse of Kornyloff products soon became well known, and they

were sought after by collectors. In the last decades of the nineteenth century

this factory started mass production of cheap porcelain wares for export. After

the October Revolution of 1917 the factory was nationalized and renamed LZFI.

in two parts.

Has operated as an experimental

factory and was associated with Lomonosov.

Restarted as Saint-Petersburg

Porcelian Factory (SPFZ)

 

Lomonosov

LFZ

Sankt Petersborg

Russia

IFZ - Imperial Porcelain Factory (pre-1917)

GFZ - State Porcelain Factory (1917 -

1925

LFZ - Leningradskiy Porcelain Factory

named after M.V. Lomonosov (1925 - 1993) = Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain

Factory

LFZ - Leninski Farfornoi Zavod =

Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (1993 - 2005)

IFZ - 

Imperatorskii Farforovyi Zavod (from 29 May 2005 - ) = Imperial Porcelain Factory.

It was founded in 1744 in Saint Petersburg and up to 1917 it was called the Emperor's Porcelain

factory. In 1918 it was nationalized and renamed into the State Porcelain

factory, in 1924 Leningradskiy Porcelain factory, and since 1925 Leningradskiy

Porcelain Factory named after M.V. Lomonosov. In 1931 the country's first

artistic laboratory was organized at the factory. The factory did not work

during the years of World War II; it was partially evacuated to the Urals to

the city of Irbit. In 1993 it was reorganized and renamed as AOZT

"Lomonosovskiy Porcelain factory".

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

For a while the partnership between

masters from the Academy of Arts and the factory flourished, but after 1820 the links were abruptly

severed. In the early 19th century, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was again

built up and began to make more complex porcelain pieces. In the early 20th

century, the factory was given over to the war effort. After the Communist

revolution, propaganda porcelain was given special priority and status.

Until 1917, most of the porcelain

products were manufactured to meet the needs of the Tsar's Court. The factory

manufactured mainly service set and adornments for the Tsar's palaces; only a

small amount of the artistic porcelain was sold to the people, and it was very

expensive and accessible only to the rich. Since 1920, the factory has

participated in international exhibitions in London, Berlin, Paris and Helsinki, where it

received high accolades. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1937 the factory was awarded, its highest honour, the gold medal.

About 100 years after its foundation,

the factory, which until then had belonged to the ruling house of Romanov, was

proclaimed the Imperial Porcelain Factory (IFZ-Imperatorskii Farforovyi Zavod).

After the October Revolution of 1917 it was nationalised and renamed the State

Porcelain Works (GFZ Gos-sudarstvennyi FZ). In 1925, however, on the occasion

of the 200th jubilee of the Russian Academy of Science, it was given the name

of the academy's founder, Mikhail Vasilevich Lomonosov (1711-65), a man

well-versed in arts and science, and until recently it was called the Leningrad

Lomonosov Porcelain Works (LFZ-Leningradski FZ imeni M.V. Lomonosova). Since

1993 it has been reorganized as the "Lomonosov Porcelain Factory", a

private joint-stock company.

Russian porcelain owes its existence

to notable Russian and foreign sculptors, painters, architects, scholars and

artisans. During the Soviet era leading masters of fine and applied arts,

ex-technologists, workers and engineers continued the tradition. The best of

Russian decorative porcelain from the Lomonosov factory today takes pride of

place in the rich Petersburg collect, both in the Hermitage and the Russian

Museum, as well as the Palace Museums of Pavlovsk, Petrodvorets and Tsarskoe

Selo, the State Historical Museum in Moscow and the Ceramics Museof Kuskovo,

and thus are part of the rich fund of Russian and international art. There are

many important foreign collectors who own such pieces. The Museum of the

Petersburg Porcelain factory, established in 1844, contains some 20,000

exhibits.

Today the factory produces souvenirs

and gifts, such as, tea and coffee sets. The items range from the animalistic

genre and thematic sculpture, flowers and decorative vases of various sizes,

porcelain decanters and pitchers.  The

products of the factory have been in continued demand at international

exhibitions and fairs since their creation. Two hundred fifty years have passed

- 250 years of unique, remarkable, difficult and highly interesting history for

the first Russian porcelain factory.

The Imperial Porcelain Factory (or

Manufactory) (Imperatorskii Farforovyi Zavod), is a producer of fine,

handpainted ceramic products in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Many still refer to the factory by

its well-known former name, Lomonosov Porcelain Factory.

Imperial Years

Founded in 1744, the porcelain

factory was created by the order of Empress Elizabeth to "serve native

trade and native art." The factory produced wares exclusively for the

ruling Romanov family and the Russian Imperial Court.

About one hundred years after its

founding, the factory gained the name "Imperial Porcelain Factory"

(IFZ - Imperatorskii Farforovyi Zavod). It then began to produce and market

porcelain for sale to wider markets.

After the Revolution

With the abolition of the Russian

monarchy in 1917, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was renamed "State

Porcelain Factory" (GFZ - Gossudarstvennyi Farforovyi Zavod) by the

Bolshevik regime. During the early years of the Soviet Union, the GFZ produced so-called propaganda wares, ranging from plates to

figurines of the Soviet elite.

In 1925, on the occasion of the 200th

jubilee of the RussianAcademy of Science, it was given the name of the academy's founder, Mikhail

Lomonosov. It became known as the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (LFZ -

Leningradski Farforovyi Zavod imeni M.V. Lomonosova). The newly-christened

Lomonosov factory produced a range of wares, including collectible animal

figurines and dinner sets.

Its best-known pattern, cobalt net,

first appeared in 1949, based on a set made for Catherine the Great. The

handpainted pattern is a combination of intersecting lines of cobalt blue with

inverted tear drops of cobalt blue (made from mineral cobalt) and 22 karat gold

accents.

After the Soviet Era

LFZ became privatized in 1993 as the

"Lomonosov Porcelain Factory." At that time, wide exports began to

countries unfamiliar with Lomonosov wares, particularly the United States and Japan. In 1999, an American investing firm was formed to buy a controlling

interest in LFZ. This prompted a long legal battle in Russia, made headlines in international business journals, and

ultimately resulted in a legal victory for the American investors. According to

some, the American investing firm's primary goal in the venture was to obtain

the factory's priceless museum collection. The HermitageMuseum took over the collection, however, and the American firm

lost interest in the company, with ownership eventually passing to a Russian

Oil Company, Nikoil.

Return to Old Name

On 29 May 2005, the stockholders of Lomonosov Porcelain Factory passed a

resolution to return to their pre-Soviet name, the Imperial Porcelain Factory.

Lvov

Lvov

Ukraine

Situated in the city of the same

name, Lvov is the largest city in the Western Ukraine

Minsk

Belarus

Founded 1870

Novgorod

Novgorod

Russia

Identical to Proletary

October

Porcelain factory

Armenia

Oktyabrski

Oktyabrski

Bahskortostan

Oktyabriski Ceramic Tile, Porcelain

and China Items factory was founded in 1960. It is between the VolgaRiver and the Ural

Mountains. Bashkortostan was

called Bashkiria up to 1990.

Orlova

Russia

Orlova Porcelain Factory 20th century

Perm

Porcelain Factory

Perm

Russia

Pervomaisky

Pesochnoye, Yaroslav region

Russia

Founded 1860

Pervomaisky

(Pesochnoye)

Pesochnoye

Russia

The village of the same name is near

the town of Kaluga (Moscow region).

The name means The First of May Factory (Pervo means first, Mai means May)

Pervomayskiy Porcelain Factory.

The factory was founded in 1884 in

the village of Pesochnoe of Romanovo-Borisoglebskiy district of Yaroslavl province by

the merchant P.A. Nikitin. In 1886 it was sold to the commercial house of V.

Karyakin and V. Rakhmaninov, and in 1894 it became the property of the

comradeship of M.S. Kuznetsov. In 1918 it was nationalized. In 1936 the

artistic laboratory was created at the factory. In 2001 the factory was

reorganized into ZAO "Pervomaiskiy Farfor".

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

 

Polonnye

ZHK

Khemelnitsky region

Ukraine

The Polonne city is situated on the KhomoraRiver in the Khmelnitsky region of the Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre pf the Polonski district

woth a population of around 23,000 people. It has been known as a settlement

since 996. The factory was a major industry in the area and was founded in

1895. It seems that the factory closed down some time before 2008.

Poltava

Ukraine

Popov

Gorbunov near Moscow

Russia

Alexander Popov's factory in

Gorbunovo - a village in the vicinity of Moscow - produced figures similar to those made by The Gardner's factory

One of the most important factories,

stimulated by the protective tariff of 1806, was started in that year in the village of Gorbunov near Moscowm by a certain Karl Milli. It was taken over in

1811 by a Moscow merchant A. Popov, who gave his name to the factory, which,

together with his son, Dmitri, he personally built up and directed until he

died in 1850s. A decade later it was sold by the Popov family, and passed

rapidly from one new owner to another. In the 1870s it belonged to an Armenian,

and finally to a Russian merchant who liquidated the whole enterprise.

 

Progress Artel

PA

Leningrad

Russia

A workmans co-operative association

(the "Hangmans" mark)

 

Prokopyevsk

Kemerovo region

Russia

Founded 1973

 

Proletary

PZ

Bronnitsky, Moscow Region

Russia

Identical to Novgorod

Proletarian Porcelain Factory

(Bronnitskiy Porcelain Factory).

The factory was founded in 1884 in

the village of Novaya

  Melnitsa, near the village of Bronnitsy, of Krestetskiy district of Novgorod province (now the

settlement of Proletariy of Novgorod disrict of Novgorod region) by Peter Kazimirovich Reykhel. In 1889 the factory was closed,

and in 1892 it was acquired by M.S. Kuznetsov. It began to work again in 1893.

On the 19th of October, 1918 it was nationalized. From November of 1921 it was a part of the

association of Novgubfarfor, and since 1927 of the Tsentrofarfortrest. In 1922

it was renamed into the Proletarian Factory; it was called Bronitskiy before).

During the years of World War II it was evacuated to Krasnoyarsk, where it continued to work. In March of 1944 it was restored at the

previous place. In 1962 reconstruction of production was made.

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

 

Pskov

Russia

Identical to Proletary

 

Renaissance

Bronnitsky near Proletary in the Novgorod region

Russia

Founded in 1966 in the town of Bronnitsky near Proletary in the Novgorod region

Riga

Latvia

Founded 1843

Riga Porcelain Factory.

Production unites two factorys. The first one was founded in 1841 (1843) in Dreylingsbush (Dreylini) near Riga by S.T. Kuznetsov. In 1864 it was handed down to M.S. Kuznetsov, and then to N.M. Kuznetsov. During the period between 1915 and 1920 it did not work in connection with the war. It was opened in 1920. In 1940 it is nationalized and renamed as the Riga Ceramic Factory. It did not work during the years of World War II. Production was restarted in 1946 and renamed into the Riga Porcelain and Faience factory. The second factory was founded in 1886 in Milgrabene by Y.K. Essen. Since 1921 it became the branch of N.M. Kuznetsov's factory. In 1940 it was nationalized. In 1963 two productions were united, and in 1968 it was called Riga Porcelain factory, now Latelektrokeramika.


(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Safronov

Moscow

Russia

Founded before 1830

Samarkand

Uzbekistan

Founded in 1979

Sinelnikov

Dnepopetrov region

Ukraine

Founded 1965

Slavenski

Ukraine

The Slavenski Ceramics Industrial Complex (Slavenski Keramicheski

Kombinat)

Sumi

Ukraine

Founded 1964

Suverovsky

Russia

Founded in 1991

Sysert

Sysert in the Urals

Russia

Founded 1960

Tallinn

Estonia

Tashkent

Uzbekistan

Founded 1962

Tbilisi

Georgien

Ternopol

Ternopol

Ukraine

Founded 1964

Porcelain from this factory is very

rare - situated in West Ukraine

Tselinograd

Kasakhstan

Founded 1942

Tursurn-zade

Leninbad region

Tadjikistan

Verbilki

DFZ

Verbilky, Tadon region

Russia

Verbilky (former Gardner) Porcelain

Factory in Verbilky. Gardner Porcelain Works was founded in Verbilki, outside Moscow, by the English-born Francis Gardner in 1766. The Gardner family retained ownership of the factory until 1891 and produced

porcelain tablewares, figurines, and faience. The Gardner's porcelain works were one of the significant ones in Russia and yielded only to imperial ones, that were established in

the 18th century by Vinogradov.

DFZ mark - stands for Dmitrov

Porcelain factory, the region the factory used to belong to - now Tadon region

Dmitrovskiy Porcelain Factory.

(Verbiky)

The factory was founded in 1766 in

Verbilki village of Dmitrovskiy district of Moscow province by English merchant F.Y.

Gardner. In 1892 it was sold to M.S. Kuznetsov. It was nationalized in April of

1918 and at the same time renamed into the Dmitrovskiy Factory. In the

beginning of the 1920s restoration began and up to 1924 it was managed by the

board. In the 1930s the production was extended. In 1934 (1938) the artistic

laboratory was created attached to the factory. In the years of World War II

the factory produced porcelain insulators and dishes for hospitals. At present

it is reorganized into ZAO "Farfor Verbilok"

(http://sovietporcelain.com/factoryinfo/)

Vinogradoff

Porcelain Works

Russia

Vladivostok

Russia

Founded 1971

Yerevan Farfor

Yerevan

Armenia

Founded 1948.The factory was situated

in Yerevan-the Armenian capital (called Armfarfor by Mark)

Yuzhnouralsk

Chelyabinsk region

Russia

Founded 1963