Three Cabinet Plates With Portraits of Joseph Stalin, Kliment Voroshilov and Sergei Kirov, Dmitrovsk Manufactory, Verbilki, 1935

the plate with a sepia portrait of Joseph Stalin, with green stamped factory mark and with brown Cyrillic overglaze inscription 'work of A.A. Chekulina April 1935'; the plate with Voroshilov with blue stamped factory mark and with brown Cyrillic overglaze inscription 'work of Chekhulina A.A. June 1935' and partially obscured inscription; the plate with portrait of Kirov with blue Cyrillic overglaze inscription 'work of artist N.K. Bordiukov December 1935'

Hillwood Museum, no. 43; Pushkin Museum, nos. 164 and 165

Oda k Radosti/Ode to Joy, p. 388, cat. no. 317; p. 394, cats. no. 322-323

Stalin plate: some inherent firing flaws visible on surface and at border; regilding over these areas? Kirov plate: large area of break and repair in lower section (from 4 o'clock to 7 o'clock) Voroshilov: Some scarttered scratches to surface and rubbing to gilding.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A prominent early Bolshevik leader, Sergei Kirov was assassinated in his offices at the Smolny Institute in December 1934. He was buried in the Kremlin Wall necropolis, with Joseph Stalin personally carrying his coffin at the State funeral. Commissions investigating his death were established under both Khrushev and Gorbachev. 

Aleksandra Alekseevna Chekulina (1906-1986) began work as a student at the Dmitrovsk factory in 1961 and continued working there until retiring in 1961. She was the designer of several important services describing Soviet achievements in the 1930s. See Sametskaia 2004, pp. 334-335.  

Nikolai Ksenofontovich Bordiukov (1889-1971) was a porcelain painter at Dmitrovsk and directed the Artistic Laboratory beginning in 1934.