Lomonosov Russian Ceramic Elephant Ornament

This is a good example of a Lomonosov elephant ornament. The Lomonsov Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg was founded in 1744, initially to supply the Russian Royal Family with fine porcelain. During the reign of Catherine the Great it was called ‘The Imperial Porcelain Factory’. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, when the Bolsheviks took power, the Factory was nationalized and renamed the "State Porcelain Works". In 1925 on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences it was renamed again and was given the name of the academy's founder, Mikhail Lomonosov. Today it is called the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory. This rather attractive little elephant is typical of the sculptures produced by the factory, having a smooth rounded appearance and being rather stylised. It is hand painted in grey with the eyes picked out in black. The tusks are unglazed and appear white in colour. One of the feet is marked in red with the Russian equivalent of the letters ‘LFZ’. The abbreviation LFZ comes from factory name in Russian - Lomonosovkiy Farforoviy Zavod. It also has the words ‘MADE IN USSR’. This implies that this piece was produced before the fall of the Soviet Union. Identical pieces are still in production but these bear the newer ‘MADE IN RUSSIA’ backstamp. It has a height of approximately 14.0cm and a maximum length of 19.0cm. It is in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks.