The porphyry vase is a gift to Emperor Nicholas I from Swedish King Charles XIV as a token of goodwill after numerous wars between Russia and Sweden. It was made at the Elfdalian (Elfdal) Royal Manufactory, founded in 1714–1716 in the town of Elvdalen. The vase was delivered to Saint Petersburg by sea, assembled, and installed on September 10, 1839, by the Karpiev Pond in the Summer Garden.

According to Swedish researcher Jan Westling, the manufactory’s documents record that granite was taken from near the village of Garberg to make the vase. The same materials state that Charles XIV commissioned the factory director Roslein to make two vases at once. The order cost the treasury 20,000 riksdaler (at today’s exchange rate, this amount equals 1.3 million Swedish kronor or 150,000 US dollars). Granite of the "Blyberg" variety was used for the pedestals. 

Initially, twenty workers roughly shaped the stone, and for subsequent finer carving, the blank was moved to a specially built workshop. One of the vases developed a crack; although the director proposed replacing it, the king decided to send only one vase with its pedestal to Saint Petersburg. In winter, it was hauled 150 miles by sled to the port of Gävle. On the Swedish ship "Alexandra," the vase arrived in Saint Petersburg, where two specially arrived masters—A. S. Agren and D. E. Ekström—were supposed to assemble and install it. According to a report by Swedish Minister L. Manderström, Nicholas I refused the help of foreign masters, gifting each a ring with a precious stone. The installation was carried out by local craftsmen.

The vase is assembled from five separately turned parts—the upper neck, middle part, lower neck, ring, and plinth. The height including the pedestal is 485 centimeters, the vase itself is 394 centimeters tall, and its maximum diameter is 134 centimeters at the stylobate. The vase was delivered to Saint Petersburg by sea. The same ship carried two Swedish masters who were to assemble the vase.

Nicholas I refused the help of foreign masters, gifting each a ring with a precious stone. The installation was carried out by local craftsmen.

The material for the vase was pink granite, traditionally called porphyry. For this reason, two other St. Petersburg vases installed on the Admiralty Embankment and made in Elvdalen are also called porphyry. Additionally, there is a widespread belief that the pedestal was made from dark red "antique" porphyry according to a design by V. I. Demut-Malinovsky. However, documents from the Swedish manufactory indicate that the pedestal was made in Sweden. In the 1960s, "patches" were inserted into it. The stylobate is made of pink Finnish sea granite.

The vase’s use is complicated by the fact that it is hollow inside. Moreover, it has no drainage hole; in its place is a nail—an iron spike used to fasten the stones. Therefore, to prevent water from entering, a wooden plug was always installed in the neck. In 1965, the plug leaked, and water got inside. To prevent the vase from cracking, staff from the Arctic Institute drilled the ice. Then they removed it piece by piece. According to known data, this was the only time the vase was at risk of cracking. In 1968, extensive restoration work was carried out on the porphyry vase. According to KGIOP, a new plug was installed in the 1980s.

On the afternoon of January 11, 2008, a crack was noticed on the porphyry vase, running from the neck. A piece of ice was sticking out from the top. The crack was immediately reported to the media, the museum’s management, and KGIOP. The Summer Garden administration decided to fence off the area and begin restoration work. On the morning of January 12, from the Moika side, it was visible that a piece had broken off the vase and fallen onto the lawn, spilling ice. On the morning of January 14, staff from the Russian Museum took both fragments away to investigate the cause of the incident.

The working theory was that water entering "old cracks, which did not appear yesterday or today," gradually destroyed the stone. There was also a version that the cracks appeared in the post-war period. Within a few days, KGIOP put forward the main version that microcracks appeared during the Great Patriotic War when the vase was damaged by shells exploding near Karpiev Pond. On March 7, KGIOP head Vera Dementieva stated that the vase cracked due to "fatigue" of the stone caused by adverse climate conditions. The main cause of destruction was changes in the stone’s structure—this was confirmed again on March 20 by the committee head, based on research conducted by staff of the Mining Institute. The initial version, that the damage could have been caused by water entering the vase, is now denied by representatives of the Summer Garden and the Russian Museum.

In mid-March 2008, Russian Museum director V. A. Gusev stated that after restoration, the vase would be installed in the halls of the Engineering Castle, and a copy would be installed in the Summer Garden. Swedish expert Ellis Eriksson (a direct sixth-generation descendant of the master who made the vase) and Georgy Shuisky, a representative of a Russian noble family, were to participate in the restoration. Eriksson suggested that after restoration, the vase could possibly be returned to its original place. The nature of the damage was such that restoration should not be labor-intensive. The Swedish expert’s conclusion was submitted to the Committee for the Protection of Monuments, where the final decision on the vase’s fate was made.

As part of the first phase of reconstruction and restoration of the Summer Garden (2009–2011), the porphyry vase was completely restored and installed in May 2012 in its original historic location in the Summer Garden.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyry_vase

https://igardens.ru/porphyry_vase/