Green Frog Service: History and Description

Each exhibit of the Hermitage is a real masterpiece and has its own, often unusual, history. The green frog service has not only an intriguing name, but also serves as a unique artifact that unites the history of two countries: Russia and England, and is also considered the ancestor of a whole trend in the art of porcelain production.

The famous English manufacturer of faience Josiah Wedgwood, whose services were proudly called "royal goods", in 1773 received a complex and very responsible order. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that it was necessary to make a large ceremonial service for 52 persons, the painting of which with topographic accuracy would reproduce the views of England, Scotland and Wales. More than 1220 landscapes had to be painted, and none of them had to be repeated. The service was truly huge: about 950 items (the exact figure is unknown, since the sources indicate a different amount).

The cost of the service was also more than impressive. The invoices contain 14,600 rubles 43 kopecks. The amount for those times is unthinkable. Even the architect of the Tauride Palace, Starov, received much less for his work: 9,600 rubles. The service emblem was supposed to be a green frog on the coat of arms. Subsequently, it was named so: "Service with a green frog."

A huge responsibility was imposed by the personality of the customer. She was the Russian Empress Catherine II. For Wedgwood, the perfect execution of the work was a matter of honor, it was very difficult to get such an order, and, in addition, his creation had to compete with the service sent to the Empress by King Frederick of Prussia.

The service was intended for a Gothic castle under construction.The area where it was built was called Kikeriki, which means "frog swamp" in Finnish. Therefore, the usual green frog became the emblem of the service.

The castle was created to celebrate significant events, entertainments and rest of the empress and was built on the lands ceded to Russia after the Northern War. It was in this castle in the Round Hall that the heroes of the war of 1812 were awarded: Kutuzov, Suvorov. Here Catherine II met with the Knights of St. George.

The foundation of the castle was laid in 1774. By 1777, the complex was built. It was built in the neo-Gothic style that came to Russia from England. This is practically the first neo-Gothic architectural ensemble in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. The Empress was fascinated by English architecture and landscape culture, as reported in a letter to Voltaire in the summer of 1772.

Medieval Gothic castles, churches, chapels in one form or another were an indispensable element of the classical English landscape. These could be both the original ruins of Gothic buildings, and new buildings erected according to the Gothic canons. The traditions of Russian architecture were very different from the English ones, therefore the Russian neo-Gothic of the 18th century is quite dependent on Russian classicism. This was reflected in the style of the Kekerekeksinen palace complex.

English views were supposed to decorate the ceremonial palace service. Thomas Bentley, Wedgwood's business partner, compiled a catalog for the Empress with names of all kinds, among which were urban and rural landscapes, natural landscapes, castles, abbeys, estates, country mansions. That is why the service has not only artistic but also historical value. It recreates the unique and majestic panorama of Great Britain in the 18th century, which has changed significantly at the present time.

It was assumed that all the landscapes decorating the service would be made from nature. However, it turned out that this will take a very long time, so they began to use prints, drawings and watercolors as sources... For this purpose, the owners of estates and estates were sent letters with a request to send the available engravings and paintings with views of their possessions. The letters indicated that the catalog with the names of the owners would be presented to the Russian empress. At the same time, the nobility of the owners did not matter, it was taken into account how picturesque the landscape is, and its compliance with the concept of the product.

The masters who painted the service items most often reproduced the original with photographic accuracy, but in some cases the artist's fantasy surrounded a real historical building with a fictional landscape made in the traditions of classicism. Wedgwood perfected the traditional ceramic composition of English cream-colored earthenware. The new composition was named "Queen's faience" in honor of Wedgwood's patroness Queen Charlotte.

The products were formed and fired at the Etruria Staffordshire factory, and the painting was done in a painting workshop in Chelsea. The service was painted by more than 30 craftsmen, each of whom performed his own part of the work. The green frog, for example, was painted by one master on all subjects.

The shape of the service items was based on the "royal uniform", so named because Wedgwood used this model to create the service for George III. This form was modified and later received the name "Catherine's". It was distinguished by its strict smooth graceful contours. The frog service was intended for both lunch and dessert serving.

The service consisted of many plates of different sizes, dishes for game, fruits and vegetables, salad bowls, tureens, gravy boats, ice-cream bowls, vases and much more.Some of the products were of a rather complex design, including several parts. For example, ice cream makers consisted of an ice compartment with a lid, an ice cream mold, and a volumetric body with a tight top lid.

The dishes are painted in warm olive-brown tones on a soft "creamy" background, each piece has a single bright spot: the symbolic little green frog. Each ornament is crowned with a triangular shield with her image.

Even during the creation, the service items were exhibited in a specially rented house on Portland House in London, so that the British could admire them before being sent to Russia. The exhibition was so popular that it lasted longer than the allotted time. This brought additional fame to Wedgwood & Sons. The turnover of the manufactory increased significantly, the “Catherine's” line of services was opened.

Catherine expressed her gratitude to Wedgwood and the manufacturers through the Ambassador in London. In Russia, the service was used at the most solemn receptions. For example, a table was set for them at the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the victory in the Chesme Bay of the Aegean Sea. In honor of this, the Kekerekeksinsky palace itself began to be called the Chesme palace. This reception was attended incognito by the Roman emperor Joseph II under the name of Count Falkenstein.

A festive dinner in honor of the consecration of the site for the temple of John the Baptist, where King Gustav III of Sweden was present under the name of the Count of Gotland, was also decorated with the "Green Frog". In the 19th century, the imperial service ordered for the Chesme Palace was lost, and it was believed that it was irretrievable. But the English explorer Uliyamson insisted on a thorough search, and at the beginning of the 20th century, the service packed in boxes was discovered in the basements of the English Palace in Peterhof.

In 1912, the Wedgwood product was exhibited at the Academy of Arts at the anniversary exhibition of the Wedgwood factory, and then solemnly transferred to the Hermitage. Until now, 700 items from the "Green Frog" have survived. In addition to the Hermitage, some of them are presented in the collections of Peterhof and the Cottage and are often shown at various exhibitions.

You can see an overview of the green frog service below.