Russian Mystery Mark

Q: I inherited a small tea set of fine china, but I can’t find the mark anywhere. Any chance someone can identify it?

A: The letters “CCCP” are the Russian abbreviation for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which existed from 1922 to 1991. The Cyrillic letters that look like “A,” “Q,” and “B” are the letters “L,” “’F,” and “’Z” for “Lomonosov Farfor Zavod” (Lomonosov Porcelain Factory.) The porcelain factory was originally known as The Russian Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, which was established in St. Petersburg in 1744 under a decree by Peter the Great’s daughter, Empress Elizabeth. It was the first porcelain factory in Russia. The name of the city of St. Petersburg was changed to Leningrad after the Russian Revolution, and the factory became known as the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in 1925.