During the reign of Empress Catherine II, Catherine the Great (1729-1796), dramatizing the majesty and sublimity of the sovereign was a major theme at the Russian court. The empress herself defined what became known as the Hermitage Etiquette, after the Hermitage, the St. Petersburg palace of the Russian tzars. Her strict rules governing dress, dining, and interiors significantly molded court etiquette. Her formal banquets, which were an opportunity to demonstrate her cultural sophistication to the outside world as well as within Russia, became an art form in themselves. The cuisine, the table settings, the interior decor, the clothing of the guests: all were required to meet the most exalted standards of the day. For special guests, the empress commissioned dinner services from the established royal porcelain factories of Western Europe and from the newest porcelain factories as well, chosen to grace her table with their sumptuous splendor. Her banquets, with their lavish use of gleaming white porcelain, then rare and precious, were thus magnificent opportunities to display imperial wealth and power.

This exhibition presents the life of Empress Catherine II and the splendor of the eighteenth-century Russian court through a selection of four table services from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. These ceramic masterpieces, now being shown in Japan for the first time, include a service made at the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin and a service commissioned to honor Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin.

Our popular dress code discount, launched to make our exhibitions more accessible, continues. For this exhibition about Empress Catherine II, visitors wearing crown designs or patterns are eligible for the discount.
Each visitor wearing accessories or clothing decorated with crowns (neckties, scarves, or pendants, for example) will receive a ¥100 discount on the cost of admission. Please don your crown and come to the museum. (This discount cannot be combined with other discounts.)

Adults 1000(800)Yen College Students:800(640)Yen
Elementary, Middle & High School Students:500(400)Yen
Seniors (65 and over with ID):500(400)Yen

*( ) are rates for groups of 20 or more
*Those with physical or mental disabilities and their attendants are free of charge.
*We are to welcome school visits (attending in Tokyo, high school and under) with accompanying teachers without admission fee. Please apply to the museum office beforehand.
*Senior (Over 65) visitors are not charged on the third Wednesday of each month (20 May. and 17 June.).

[Organized by] Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, The Yomiuri Shimbun, The Japan Association of Art Museums
[Patronized by] Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Embassy of the Russian Federation, Russian Center for International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation
[With the support of] Lion Corporation, Shimizu Corporation, Dai Nippon Printing Co.,Ltd.
[With the cooperation of ]Finnair
[With the coordination of]Art Impression Inc.
[With the Annual sponsorship] Toda Corporation / Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.