Cobalt Net

Anna Yatskevich drew the cobalt net at the besieged Leningrad factory in 1944, crossing the geometry of Empress Elizabeth's 'Own Service' with — by factory legend — the taped window-panes and searchlight beams of the blockade city. Underglaze cobalt lattice, 22-carat gold stars at the crossings: the formula is austere and celebratory at once.

The pattern took gold at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958, a year after its author's death, and has been in continuous production since — the single most recognisable Russian porcelain decor. Early pieces with the LFZ underglaze mark and hand-drawn net are the collector's target.