Three Russian knives with porcelain handles from the service of the imperial yacht "Livadia", Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, St. Petersburg, circa 1870-80The knife blades made of silver-plated steel, porcelain handles, glazed in white, hand-painted décor in green and pale pink. Cartouches with the tsarist crown and "AM" beneath the tsarist crown for Tsar Alexander II and Maria Feodorovna. Length of the knives 22.6 cm. The knives were part of the cutlery service for the imperial yacht "Livadia", which was built for Tsar Alexander II. Building work on the vessel began in 1869. The architect I. A. Monighetti was commissioned to design the interior fittings. The ship entered the fleet in 1873 and made its way to Sevastopol. Livadia was the only yacht to play an active part in the conflict. 1877-78, it was deployed off the Rumanian and Bulgarian coast for reconnaissance purposes. In 1878, it sank a Turkish vessel. Livadia's five-year service came to an end in the night from 21 to 22 October 1878, when it ran aground on a reef in fog. The yacht could not be saved.Condition: IIKeywords: Russland, russisch, Russian, Russia, Russe, Russie, Petersburg, Moskau, Moscow, ,