Karbadian Man

The Imperial Porcelain Factory entered a period of prosperity under patronage of Catherine the Great. The factory mainly served the needs of the court and, at the order of the empress, created unique pieces to be given as gifts to foreign dignitaries, favorites, and courtiers.

Beginning in 1779, the chief modeler of the Imperial Porcelain factory, Jean Dominique Rochette (1744–1809), extended the scope of the factory production by creating a series of figures in porcelain. Rachette's workshop was responsible for the first series of figures known as the People of Russia. The series was inspired by the book of the famous ethnographer and traveler Johann Gottlieb Georghi entitled A Description of All the Peoples Inhabiting the Russian State. Work on the series continued from 1780 until 1804.

Credit: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982