Russia's oldest producer of porcelain and one of the first in Europe, the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory was established in 1744 by decree of Peter the Great's daughter, Elizabeth. Known in tsarist times as the Imperial Porcelain Manufacturer, the factory was an exclusive supplier to the Romanov family and its noble relatives. The museum was founded a century later by Emperor Nicholas I, with donations from the Winter Palace and other royal residences. Open to the public, the museum was nevertheless a fashionable destination for Russia's nobility.

In the reign of Alexander III (1881-1894) it became a rule that an original copy of each new piece be given to the museum. An additional collection of teaching aids for the factory's sculptors and artists was formed under the auspices of the museum. It included porcelain from other Russian and European factories. There was also a library with hundreds of books and works of graphic art.

However in the Soviet period, the museum instituted a closed-door policy, restricting access to factory workers and privileged guests. Closed to the public for nearly a century, St. Petersburg's Lomonosov Porcelain Factory Museum was opened again in 2001. On display are 600 masterpieces from over 260 years of Russian porcelain making - from luxurious ceremonial dinner services ordered by Catherine the Great to Bolshevik propaganda chess sets pitting nobles against Soviet workers and peasants.