An Early English Plate from the Russian Imperial Queen Victoria Yacht Service Minton, Stoke-upon-Trent, circa 1845 10-1/4 inches (26.0 cm) PROVENANCE: John Atzbach Antiques, Bellevue, Washington; The Kathleen Durdin Collection of Russian Decorative Arts, Tampa, Florida. Though political relations were tense between Russian and Great Britain in the 1840's, relations between the houses of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Romanov were somewhat better. To further their political and personal relations, Queen Victoria commissioned a yacht as a diplomatic gift for Emperor Nicholas I. Built by Joseph White of Cowes, she was christened "Queen Victoria" and launched in June of 1846. The "Queen Victoria" was delivered with sumptuous cabins, and a full china service from Minton, executed between 1845-46. The yacht became the first registered in the St. Petersburg Yacht Club on Krestovsky Island founed by the emperor. The service had replacements provided by the Imperial porcelain factory fairly regularly until the ship, no longer fit for service, was scrapped in 1884 by the Emperor Alexander III. Property from the Kathleen Durdin Collection HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved