One of the world's most exclusive dinner services originates from the end of the eighteenth century, the golden age of porcelain. Flora Danica is the only large luxury service from that period still in production today. Work on Flora Danica commenced in 1790. It was commissioned by the Danish Royal Household as a gift for Tszarina Catherina II (Catherine the Great) of Russia who died before the service was completed. The original Flora Danica service took 18 years to complete and it has remained in the possession of the Danish Royal Family. The original service is a national treasure, with some parts kept at Rosenborg Castle and some at Christianborg, where the service is used for gala dinners and state occasions. The service gets both its name and motifs from the old botanical work "Flora Danica", meaning "Flowers of Denmark", in which minutely detailed copperplates reproduce Denmark's abundant flora in exacting detail. Every piece of the service is a work of art in itself and no two are painted the same. Each of the many details are modeled and cut out by hand, then the flowers are painted freehand, exactly as they were more than 200 years ago. Today Flora Danica can be found in both Royal Palaces, and residences worldwide with pride of place.
