Cobalt mesh pattern on porcelain from Anna Adamovna Yatskevich
This blue mesh was created by the artist of the plant Anna Adamovna Yatskevich (1904-1952) in 1944.
For the first time dishes with such a pattern came out in 1944, but it was not blue, but gold. But the artist did not like the way the gold mesh looks on the finished product and she changed color on subsequent models from gold to deep blue, cobalt. This is how this pattern first appeared.
The service in this particular color was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. This was a big surprise, since, unlike many exhibits of the exhibition, the service was not created specifically for it, but had been in the plant’s assortment for more than 10 years and was an example of classic porcelain products from the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. Since that time the name “Cobalt mesh” has been assigned to the pattern. Immediately after the exhibition, the popularity of this model of tableware in the Soviet Union increased sharply. Many dreamed of having on their table, if not a service, then at least a tea cup with the famous blue mesh.
And what became its prototype and where did the artist get this idea from?
There are two main versions of how the artist Anna Yatskevich came up with the idea of this drawing, and which one is correct is still being debated. According to the first version, the idea of “cobalt netting” was inspired by another set with netting. This is a service of the 18th century, created by Dmitry Vinogradov himself for Elizabeth Petrov, which is called “Own”. In 1944, the porcelain factory celebrated its 200th anniversary, and the chief artist N.M.Suetin advised the factory’s artists to prepare products for this event based on classic motifs from the history of Russian porcelain. He suggested to Anna Adamovna to try to make a drawing by analogy with Elizaveta Petrovna’s own service. In this service, small pink flowers were inscribed on an openwork mesh.
According to the second version, the idea of cobalt netting came from Anna Abramovna by analogy with the windows of houses in besieged Leningrad glued crosswise. The artist survived the blockade, lost her mother and sister in the years of famine and thus wanted to perpetuate their memory. Most of the artists themselves are inclined towards this version, but so far the first is considered the official version.
Lomonosov Porcelain Factory
Anna Yatskevich has another drawing, perhaps known to everyone who has ever come across the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. The famous logo of the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory, depicted on the products produced at the factory, also belongs to her. Invented in 1936. and was installed until 2006 on all products.
Unfortunately, Anna Adamovna did not live to see the day when the painting developed by her became famous and one of the most beloved, she died in 1952.
Cobalt netting has always been hand-drawn, but recently the plant has switched to decal decoration (decal) in order to reduce the price of cobalt net products and make them more affordable. According to collectors and porcelain lovers, the decal certainly loses to hand-painted, but that’s a completely different story.
Not so long ago, new interpretations of the classic cobalt mesh have appeared. These are Grid Blues (red grid), Grid Jazz (gold grid) and Platinum grid. These “grids” are also made using translation pictures, not hand-painted.
