Ask the older generation about the trends of home comfort of their youth. You will definitely hear in return stories about carpets and porcelain, which were a sign of the fact that “life has succeeded”. About carpets – somehow another time, but the sets of porcelain, which we were lucky enough to see with our own eyes in the Zhytomyr Regional Museum of Local Lore, are worth a separate story
At the end of the XVIII-beginning. The first porcelain and faience manufactories began to appear in the territory of Volyn province in the 19th century: in 1784 – in Korka, in 1799 – in Horodnytsia, in 1802 – in Baranivka. Subsequently, new deposits of kaolin, pegmatite, and feldspar were discovered. All this contributed to the flourishing of the porcelain and earthenware industry in the Zhytomyr region. Gorodnytsya porcelain and faience and Kamyanobridsky faience, Yemilchyn factory, which produced porcelain “luxury”, Olevsk, Korosten, Baranivsky, Dovbysky porcelain factories have long remained the best enterprises in the industry.
The Korosten factory was one of the most powerful, and its business card in Soviet times was a porcelain sculpture of small forms.
The plant was founded by the Przybilski brothers in 1902-1903. Initially, one-piece tea and coffee products were made there – undecorated forms of tea sets were supplied to Poland and Western Ukraine. In 1956, pupils of the Lviv State Institute of Applied Arts, sculptors Valentyna Mykhailivna (1926-2010) and Mykola Semenovych (1922-2007) Tregubova, who had worked at the plant for 45 years, came to Korosten. Talented artists – porcelain, masters of their craft, have created a large number of original sculptures of small forms, which can safely be called works of art.
The Tregubovs began to master modern forms of porcelain and were the first at the enterprise to make sculptures. Valentina Mikhailivna was attracted by small forms: first she sculpted figures at home, after work, and then she sculpted gift and souvenirs, which she offered for launch into production. Today a special pride of the museum is the collection of products of the talented couple.
Later, a special line for casting sculptures and souvenirs was launched at the plant, and the Tregubovs began to actively engage in small sculptures. Their works were distinguished by their decorativeness and bold decisions. In creating small figures, the authors used folklore and ethnographic themes and literary images, based on the works of luminaries of Ukrainian literature – Kotlyarevsky, Gogol, Lesya Ukrainka.
Valentyna Mykhailivna studied folk traditions and peculiarities of Ukrainian clothes. Her multi-figure compositions are scenes full of everyday details, reminiscent of life situations, and the characters of the compositions are alive and emotional. Bright examples are sculptural suites based on the poem by Ivan Kotlyarevsky “Aeneid” of nine figures and based on the novel by Mykola Gogol “Sorochinsky Fair” of eight figures, which are stored in the Zhytomyr Museum of Local Lore. Artists also turned to Soviet themes that were relevant at the time: the sculptural multi-figure compositions “Komsomol Members of the Twenties”, “Subotnik” and “Tachanka” came to the museum in the 1970s.
However, not only porcelain figurines, but also various table sets performed by the Tregubovs are an example of real art and evoke amazing feelings. The table gift set “Novosillya” with the painting “Firebird”, made in collaboration with the artist Zhdanova, is the result of inspiration and talent of the authors.
Dessert set “Duchess”, set for beer “Zhytomyr region”, set of teapots “Forest song”, decorative sculpture “Kozak Mamay” are optimistic, bright and original. The talented couple had a fine artistic taste, deep knowledge of the material and traditions, and therefore created a large number of highly artistic works, working hard. Of course, this would not be possible if artists did not love their work.
They worked in tandem, and at the same time, were critics, advisers and helpers to each other.
The works of the Tregubovs became the hallmark of the enterprise, and Korosten sculpture stood out among the products of other Ukrainian enterprises for its expressiveness, uniqueness, was close and understandable to people.
Their works took part in various domestic and foreign exhibitions, and the artists themselves were awarded high prizes: in 1970 Valentina Mikhailivna received the honorary title of “Honored Artist of the USSR”, and Mykola Semenovich in 1983 – “Honored Artist of the USSR”. For the highly artistic use of folk traditions in works of decorative and applied art, artists in 1986 became winners of the State Prize of the USSR. TG Shevchenko.
Porcelain products by the Tregubov family are still in incredible demand, and museums and private collectors are proud of their presence in their collections.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 2000s, porcelain factories in the Zhytomyr region were bankrupt, repurposed or closed, so even the simplest household products that used to be in every family are becoming a rarity. The cheerful and vivid images created by the Tregubovs give us the opportunity to better understand the era and remain certain that love for one’s work is a component of true art.
