A SOUP BOWL ON THE TRAY FROM THE PERM GOVERNOR TABLE SET

In the course of the reform of local government of 1770s - 1780s were formed governorates that united two or three provinces under the rule of the Governor-General or the Governor, endowed with special trust of the Empress. Empress Catherine II ordered silver vicegerent or provincial official table sets to be made for them. In 1775 began the delivery of those sets to the Palace. They were intended to be used on special occasions and for receptions of distinguished guests. Those sets were created in the workshops of the best silversmiths of Paris, London, Augsburg and St.Petersburg and included up to 1,000 – 1,300 items each and weighed over 620 kilograms each. Ordering those table sets to the finest European jewelers and spending vast amounts of money on them, Catherine II demonstrated the Wealth and Greatness of her State. When Catherine’s son Paul I came to power he ordered to return all table sets to the Treasury; some of them were delivered to St.Petersburg and remelt.