A Set of Three Imperial Porcelain Factory St Petersburg Porcelain Oyster Dishes, 1900 and 1902, from the Raphael Service, painted with classical figures on a red ground within radiating panels of classical ornament, the handles painted with heraldic devices, gilt monogram marks for Emperor Nicholas II and dates 1900 and 1902, 14.5cm wide See illustration

The Raphael Service was commissioned by Alexander III in 1883 for the Tsarskoselsky Palace and was inspired by Raphael's frescos in the Loggias of the Vatican. The nature of the decoration of this extensive service meant that it was not completed until 1903

Provenance: Given to a Lancashire engineer whilst on a trade mission to Russia in the 1920s, and thence by descent