From the ‘Christmas Gift’ SeriesPorcelain made at the Imperial Manufactory in St Petersburg makes up an important part of Russia’s historical heritage.Thanks to the scale of this retrospective exhibition it will be possible to show the manufactory’s output from its foundation to the present day. The development of imperial porcelain was shaped not only by European fashions but by the personal tastes and interests of members of the ruling house. Both the forms and the painting upon them often included references to works from the imperial collections, made available to the manufactory specifically so that these unique items could be created. Visitors to the exhibition will see porcelain made to adorn interiors, to be used during ceremonial banquets and for ordinary dining, as well as historical portraits, images of the different peoples of Russia in porcelain and other objects that capture the styles of ages past. After the Revolution of 1917 porcelain followed a new direction, in accordance with the demands of Soviet art: the exhibition includes pieces in some of the most important avant-garde, Surrealist and other modernist styles. In accordance with tradition, the exhibition also presents contemporary works by artists employed at the manufactory today. In all, the exhibition will consist of more than 500 pieces dating from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Organised by the State Hermitage Museum with the participation of the State Russian Museum, the State Museum Reserves of Pavlovsk, Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo and Kuskovo, and the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory Company.