Four tables of the Empress Catherine II. Works from the Collections of the State Hermitage
16 April 2009 - 7 February 2010
Tokyo State Art Museum, Tokyo;
Iwaki City Art Museum;
Daimaru Museum, Osaka;
Umi-Mori Art Museum, Hiroshima;
Exhibition Hall of Oita Prefecture, Japan
280 exhibits

In the European cultural tradition full-dress dinners at the king’s court were an issue of national importance, and the decoration of the banquet tables and the utensils used for laying the tables could be called a mirror of a country’s cultural and political ambitions.

The age of Catherine II is traditionally perceived by the historians as a standard for Russia’s cultural identity. The china sets of Catherine II used for full-dress dinners became a part of the Russian culture as an attribute of the country’s national prestige and an illustration of its orientation towards Europe.

The exhibition of four china sets Four Tables of the Empress Catherine II. Works from the Collection of the State Hermitage, which the museum organizes in five Japanese cities from April 16, 2009 till February 7, 2010 is a sharp evidence of the place occupied by Russia on the political and cultural map of Europe starting from the last third of XVIII century.

Every set represents a core of each of the four sections of the exhibition, including, alongside the china, West-European paintings, items made of stone and jewelry.

The first set is the famous Berlin Dessert Set presented to the Russian empress by the Prussian king Frederick II as a commemoration of the victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. It was one of the most significant proofs of Europe’s acceptance of the political strength and independence of Russia.

The second set, Set with a Green Frog, with 1222 English landscapes, made on request by the company named Wedgewood in 1773, remains a constant proof of Russia’s adoption of the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Set with Cameos made in 1778 by Sevres Factory through the request of Catherine II for the prince Grigory Potemkin, introduces the viewer to the world of the private preferences of the empress when it came to both art and private life.

Set of the Order of St George made for Catherine II in 1777-1778 at the factory of F. Gardner near Moscow is still perceived as one of the symbols of Russia’s military glory. The exhibition that is currently being held in Japan includes 280 items.