Porcelain from China and Germany had been known in Russia for centuries due to trade relations with foreign countries and private travel. But porcelain production became possible in Russia only in the 1740s as the result of work done by talented Russian scientist Dmitry Vinogradov, who discovered the secret of porcelain production and began its industrial manufacture. Thus, due to his efforts, the Imperial Porcelain Factory was founded. Vinogradov was also the author of the first theoretical study on porcelain production written in Europe. The products of the Imperial Porcelain Factory (at present, the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in Leningrad) were intended to be used at the royal court. Early Russian porcelain generally followed Saxonian porcelain styles: the white surface was decorated with small bunches of flowers, birds, and decorative ribbons. The plate with oriental motifs copying the serving plate of Meissen manufacture was made at the Imperial Factory during the reign of Catherine the Great: here the usual white background is covered with representations of a dragon, a stork, a flowering branch and a beetle, the board relief imitating braid is decorated with flowering branches and butterflies.De Luxe Porcelain