Recalling the Chinese export service ordered by Empress Catherine the Great in the 18th century for the Russian imperial court, this colorful and festive jardinière or planter, is decorated front and back with a stylized imperial Russian double headed eagle enclosing a deep blue shield of St. George Slaying the Dragon, the symbol of Moscow, Russia’s ancient capital. The sides feature pairs of peacocks in a flower garden. The upper border with interlaced ribbons and floral garlands, with everted rim, the interior of which is decorated with a rouge de fer band enhanced with a crested wave design. Raised on four bracket feet with Asian motif.

Samson was an important French porcelain manufacturer founded in the 1860s in Paris by Edmé Samson that excelled in reproducing important porcelain services from around the world. The firm produced high-quality imitations of earlier styles of porcelain, mainly 18th-century European and Chinese and Japanese porcelain, but also earlier styles such as Italian maiolica.

-12 1/2 x 8 3/4 x 8 in. (31.8 x 22.2 x 20.3 cm) (w x d x h)

-13 lbs; 5.9 kilos

For a set of 8 dinner plates and 5 dessert plates from a similar service see Ref no. 309M-MSH-135A and B.