Beautiful white glazed porcelain plate with the mark of the Kuznetsov porcelain factory

[NICHOLAS II]: (1868-1918) Emperor of Russia from 1894 to 1917. A beautiful white glazed porcelain plate with the mark of the Kuznetsov porcelain factory (circa 1908), from a set used by Tsar Nicholas II and the imperial Romanov family aboard the Imperial Russian yacht Standart. The plate (diameter 9") is decorated with two gold bands along the edges and a double-headed eagle featuring the coat of arms of the Russian Empire of the Tsar, hand-painted in black, gold, blue, and red. There are minor signs of aging on the outer gold rim and slight paint loss in the center of the eagle's coat of arms, overall condition VG. Matvey Kuznetsov owned virtually all porcelain factories in Russia, including Verbilki, the Gzhel district, Dulevo, the village of Pesochnoye, and the Yaroslavl region. This porcelain was made for the imperial family at the time of the coronation in 1896, and replacements were produced until 1914. Although a large number of items were made over the years, after World War I only about 1,000 surviving pieces were found. The Standart was launched in 1895 and at the time was the largest imperial yacht. The Standart was furnished with luxurious items, including mahogany panels, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities that made the vessel a suitable floating palace for the Russian imperial Romanov family. Tsar Nicholas II and his family were vacationing on the Standart in the summer of 1914 when they received news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. The reign of Tsar Nicholas II marked the decline of the Russian Empire from one of the world’s leading great powers to economic and military collapse. Two revolutions took place in Russia in 1917, the first of which is known as the February Revolution, the immediate result of which was the abdication of the Tsar and the end of the Romanov dynasty. The Russian imperial Romanov family and all those who chose to go into exile with them were executed by a firing squad in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918.