At the «Porcelain celebration» there is a feeling that you are in a large old cabinet: the fragile sides of cups and sugar bowls flicker weakly in artificial light, plates are hung on the walls, and figures of dogs, gymnasts, babies and fish standing on their tails are seemingly begging to be taken in hands — they want to be viewed, carefully wrapped in paper and taken home. However, «Do not touch the exhibits with your hands.»
Visitors slowly swim through the hall: grandmothers in pairs, discussing what services they have at home, children sort through clay shards in a box, and young people contemplate the magnificence of this colorful porcelain. It creates a feeling of profound nostalgia — a feeling familiar to almost every person who grew up in the post-Soviet space, a feeling of forgotten childhood, home, family dining rooms, special-case services, and beautiful statues dazzling on cupboards.
Kuznetsov’s porcelain — that’s what the products from Kuznetsov’s factory are called — and it’s truly unique. Its phenomenon lies, first of all, not in the exceptional artistic value, but in a very wide distribution. That is why this porcelain evokes moments from childhood or youth — after all, almost every family had products of the Kuznetsov’s factory.
Kuznetsov’s porcelain production. This Is What Happened
Latvian porcelain is associated with the name of Sidor Kuznetsov. In 1841 he founded the first porcelain and faience factory in the Baltics.
This factory was located in Kengarags (on Maskavas Street, 257). Although at first only faience products were produced here, ten years later — porcelain production appeared.
It’s no coincidence this factory originated in Riga: proximity to the sea played a role — it was possible to expand exports of goods and to sell products freely to other countries in the region. And the proximity of the seaport significantly reduced the proportion of products broken during transportation. Shorter path reduced the risk for fragile porcelain.
The factory grew rapidly: while in the middle of the 19th century 250 people worked here, in 50 years this number increased to 2500. It’s said that a pleasantly humorous tradition quickly emerged in the factory: giving workers their own dishes for the holidays. However, it was not branded (so that there was no desire to sell it).
After 1917, the Kuznetsov family managed to save only one out of thirteen factories and it happened to be the one standing in Riga. Despite the terrible condition (all the equipment was removed, and only the walls had been left from the enterprise), they managed to restore the factory. And even successfully make dishes here. But only a few decades before the next turn in history.
The Kuznetsov’s factory in Kengarags operated until 1940, when it was nationalized. During the Soviet occupation of Latvia, the Riga factory of porcelain and faience products was born on the site of the former Kuznetsov’s factory. However, locals continued to call it «Kuznetsovsky».
It is easy to guess that this plant closed in the early 1990s — and many secrets of making porcelain and faience dishes were lost.
Alexandra Beltsova and Roman Suta at the Kuznetsov factory
The names of two important artists for Latvia are associated with the Kuznetsov’s factory: Alexandra Beltsova and Roman Suta.
The unique couple of artists were painting portraits, landscapes and still life, while also engaging in graphics and, of course, painting Kuznetsov’s porcelain. All together; they were like-minded and competitive simultaneously.
In 1924, they founded a workshop for painting porcelain Baltars (the name translates from latin: ars Baltica — Baltic art). For painting they used the products of Kuznetsov’s factory. Only ten copies were made from each sketch of the artists — so today these rare works are especially valuable.
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Roman Suta most often depicted Latvian folk stories on porcelain: festivities, weddings and other scenes of this genre. But Alexandra turned to Russian folklore and exotic patterns.
«Baltars» lasted only a few years. But even after the closure, Roman Suta and Alexandra Beltsova continued to work with porcelain and ceramics at the Kuznetsov’s factory.
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There they embodied avant-garde ideas — for example, Beltsova painted plates in cubism (which at that time was quite unusual: dishes without the usual floral patterns attracted attention). Such copies have been preserved, becoming costly exhibits of private and museum collections.
«Celebration of porcelain» smoothly conducts all stages of the existence of the Kuznetsov’s factory, focusing on the brightest times — the period between both wars.
You can endlessly look at the hundreds of exhibits that Zuzeum managed to collect, while gradually plunging into a light meditative state. Salt cellar, large plate, ballerina in pointe shoes, giant vase, sugar bowl — the royal sets coexist with the mass production of the factory, as well as with unique works created from sketches of famous Latvian artists. And it’s amazing — such a large-scale and all-encompassing neighborhood, shamelessly offering itself to be viewed.
“Celebrate Porcelain with Kuznetsov’’ is open at the Zuzeum Art Center until August 6 — with and without a guide.
