The museum’s collection features a dining set, which consists of deep plates for the first courses, small plates for the second ones, dessert plates and a bread box.
The set is made in the traditional style of classic European porcelain, has a delicate cream-colored top layer and is decorated with a stylized image of flowers. The side of the plates is wavy and has a blue trim, closer to the center there is a convex pattern of the main color, along which three roses are placed at an equal distance. The manufacturer’s brand “Mintons. England.” is printed on the bottom on the reverse side.
The dining set was produced at the Minton factory, which was founded in 1793 by Thomas Minton in the town of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire in England. The factory produced ceramics of various types: earthenware, porcelain, and majolica.
The dining set was donated by Olga Ulyanova, the daughter of Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov, the younger brother of Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin).
Olga Dmitrievna Ulyanova was born on March 4, 1922 in the family of Dmitry Ilyich Ulyanov and Alexandra Fedorovna Ulyanova, nee Karpova. She graduated from the Chemical Faculty of Moscow State University and, having defended her PhD thesis, worked as a teacher for many years. Afterwards she received the title of associate professor. For many years, Olga Dmitrievna was the keeper of her family’s history. She was an honorary citizen of the Ulyanovsk region. She died on March 25, 2011 at the age of 90. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
In early 1973, the museum turned to Olga Dmitrievna
Ulyanova with a request to help gather artifacts for a new collection. In a
reply letter, Olga Dmitrievna said,