Porcelain Dish from the Kuznetsov Factory with a Scene of Calling the Hero Mikula Selyaninovich. Early 20th century.

A large porcelain decorative plate with a genre scene made in the technique of polychrome painting, located in the mirror of the plate and a stylised Russian-style leaf ornament along the flat side of the dish. The picturesque painting of the plate is made by hand. On the relief edge of the side of the plate, gold and blue decorative stripes are applied. Such decorative decoration and a flat side give the plate the appearance of a genre picture, framed in a beautiful painted frame. The reverse side of the plate is decorated along its side with a golden cover and an inscription with the name of the painting plot. The genre scene in the centre of the plate is made to the motive of the Russian epic Mikula Selyaninovich, as evidenced by the inscription on the bottom of the dish - the epic Mikula Selyaninovich. The episode of the summoning of Mikula Selyaninovich by the bogatyr Volga Svyatoslavich to collect taxes is depicted. Typical is the image of the epic hero not in elegant boots, but in simple peasant bast shoes. Some researchers of the Russian epic interpret this scene as a meeting of the hunter god with the plowman god. This interpretation is due to the fact that Mikula Selyaninovich in Russian culture personified the god of agriculture. In the lower left part of the genre picture is the signature of the artist-ceramist, presented in the form of a monogram consisting of Latin and Russian capital block letters DB (unknown artist of the Kuznetsov factory). The plate is part of a series of several similar plates decorated on the theme of the Russian folk epic (at least 9 pieces), made in the Russian style in the second half of the 19th century (1870-1880s) at the Tver faience factory of M.S. Kuznetsov. The Tver faience factory was acquired by M.S. Kuznetsov in 1870, which already under the first owner and founder of the factory (the Auerbach family) became famous in Russia for products in the pseudo-Russian style. A series of epic plates from the Tver factory may have been exhibited at the Polytechnic Exhibition of 1889. Production mark of the factory M.S. Kuznetsov in Tver in the form of a small state emblem - a double-headed eagle and the inscription M.S. Kuznetsov Tver province located on the tape. The printed stamp is filled with gold, which testifies to the special purpose of the subject. Russian Empire, Tver province. Factory of M.S. Kuznetsov. 1870-1889 years. Porcelain, hand-painted polychrome, gilding, golden cover. Collection safety. Material: Porcelain, Hand Painted, Gilding; ID: 7981