Museum

This cup and saucer once belonged to an elaborate dinner service for sixty people, commissioned from the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory by Catherine the Great of Russia. Every aspect of the design was worked out to her exacting specifications and the set took nearly forty craftspeople three years to complete. The color reflected the empress's love of the semiprecious stone turquoise and the decorations include Catherine’s monogram (“E” for “Ekaterina”) and profile medallions that imitate the classical cameos she collected.