Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich Scenic Plate #1

This is a really rare plate made by KPM between 1849 and 1870. A superb piece that is often said to come from the service of the Russian Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich but he was born after this plate was made and his royal cypher is different. I personally think it was for his father Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich as he seemed to have used different cyphers. Or maybe for a wedding between two people whose last names ended with an A and a V. Either way this is an amazing plate with a nice rim shape. The rim is decorated with a hand painted design of alternating red and green lozenge shaped panels with gold designs to them with gold leaf scrolls in between and a Russian royal princely crown over the cyrillic monogram / cypher AV. The rim design is certainly based on the Gothic art that many services by the Imperial St. Petersburg company also used in their services. The well of the plate has a thick gold band to the edge with a rope like design under that but the best part is certainly the hand painted scene in the center of the plate including an orthodox priest and a priestess walking some stone halls. An extremely well painted scene! I have four of these plates each with a different scene from everyday life in Russia. The plate is in superb condition with just a spot of stacking wear that is pretty minor and some minor use marks. As good as it gets for being 150 plus years old! It displays superbly! The plate is 1.25 inches tall and 9.75 inches in diameter. It is marked underneath with the under glaze blue scepter over the so called penny mark as well as the red orb (hard to see!), some impressed marks and the title of the scene in black script in French - Moine at Religieuse meaning monk and nun. Please email me for more information or other pictures.