Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov
Encyclopedia
Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov (c.
1720–) was a Russia
n chemist, the inventor of Russia
n hard-paste porcelain
and the founder of the Imperial Porcelain Factory
.
Vinogradov was born into a low-income household in Suzdal
and was trained at the Slavic Greek Latin Academy
where he came to know Mikhail Lomonosov
. In 1736, Lomonosov and Vinogradov went abroad to study chemistry
, metallurgy
, and mining
under Christian Wolff
. Upon his return to Russia in 1744, he was sent to a ceramics manufactory that was established that year under the direction of Christoph Conrad Hunger, who had been induced by Empress Elizabeth to come to St Petersburg from Stockholm
.
At that time hard-paste porcelain
was produced only in China
and Japan
and in Meissen
, Saxony
, where a deposit of suitable kaolin had been discovered and first successfully employed in 1709 (see Meissen porcelain
). Other European factories were beginning to emulate Meissen wares, but in soft-paste porcelain
. The recipe for porcelain was a closely guarded secret at Meissen and the price of Meissen porcelain might exceed the price of silver of equal weight.
Hunger proved to be unable to produce porcelain from the materials at hand and was dismissed in 1748, leaving the venture in the hands of Vinogradov. Eight years Vinogradov and Mikhail Lomonosov
spent developing an original Russian recipe for porcelain. In 1752, Vinogradov published a treatise advertising his success in producing the first satisfactory samples of porcelain, made of Russian raw materials, employing clay from Gzhel)
mixed with finely-ground Olonets
quartz and alabaster
. Vinogradov trained the first Russian master craftsmen of porcelain at the factory. The first products were small wares, cups, snuffboxes and their lids, cane heads, doorknobs, knife handles and the like.
The production of large items, like plates, was going to be essential if the manufactory was to produce more than small luxuries; In December 1756 Vinogradov completed the construction of a large furnace and made a successful first firing. As a mark of its impending success the venture was renamed the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The Imperial factory's greatest period of success was to come under the direction of Prince Alexander Vyazemsky, after Vinogradov's death. The factory exists today as the Imperial Porcelain Factory
.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1720–) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n chemist, the inventor of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n hard-paste porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
and the founder of the Imperial Porcelain Factory
Imperial Porcelain Factory
The Imperial Porcelain Factory , is a producer of fine, handpainted ceramic products in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was established by Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov in the town of Oranienbaum in 1744...
.
Vinogradov was born into a low-income household in Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
and was trained at the Slavic Greek Latin Academy
Slavic Greek Latin Academy
Slavic Greek Latin Academy was the first higher education establishment in Moscow, Russia.-Beginnings:...
where he came to know Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
. In 1736, Lomonosov and Vinogradov went abroad to study chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
under Christian Wolff
Christian Wolff (philosopher)
Christian Wolff was a German philosopher.He was the most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant...
. Upon his return to Russia in 1744, he was sent to a ceramics manufactory that was established that year under the direction of Christoph Conrad Hunger, who had been induced by Empress Elizabeth to come to St Petersburg from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
At that time hard-paste porcelain
Hard-paste porcelain
Hard-paste porcelain is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature. It was first made in China around the 9th century....
was produced only in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and in Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, where a deposit of suitable kaolin had been discovered and first successfully employed in 1709 (see Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china is the first European hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market...
). Other European factories were beginning to emulate Meissen wares, but in soft-paste porcelain
Soft-paste porcelain
Soft-paste porcelain is a type of a ceramic material, sometimes referred to simply as "soft paste". The term is used to describe soft porcelains such as bone china, Seger porcelain, vitreous porcelain, new Sèvres porcelain, Parian porcelain and soft feldspathic porcelain, and is also used more...
. The recipe for porcelain was a closely guarded secret at Meissen and the price of Meissen porcelain might exceed the price of silver of equal weight.
Hunger proved to be unable to produce porcelain from the materials at hand and was dismissed in 1748, leaving the venture in the hands of Vinogradov. Eight years Vinogradov and Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
spent developing an original Russian recipe for porcelain. In 1752, Vinogradov published a treatise advertising his success in producing the first satisfactory samples of porcelain, made of Russian raw materials, employing clay from Gzhel)
Gzhel (village)
Gzhel is the name of two rural localities in Ramensky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, southeast from the center of Moscow. It gave its name to Gzhel ceramics as well as the Gzhelian age and stage in the ICS geologic timescale. In a broader sense, the name also refers to a cluster of villages and...
mixed with finely-ground Olonets
Olonets
Olonets is a town and the administrative center of Olonetsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, situated on the Olonka River, to the east from Lake Ladoga. Population: -History:...
quartz and alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
. Vinogradov trained the first Russian master craftsmen of porcelain at the factory. The first products were small wares, cups, snuffboxes and their lids, cane heads, doorknobs, knife handles and the like.
The production of large items, like plates, was going to be essential if the manufactory was to produce more than small luxuries; In December 1756 Vinogradov completed the construction of a large furnace and made a successful first firing. As a mark of its impending success the venture was renamed the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The Imperial factory's greatest period of success was to come under the direction of Prince Alexander Vyazemsky, after Vinogradov's death. The factory exists today as the Imperial Porcelain Factory
Imperial Porcelain Factory
The Imperial Porcelain Factory , is a producer of fine, handpainted ceramic products in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was established by Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov in the town of Oranienbaum in 1744...
.