I need help evaluating the make, age and value of this item which the seller thought to be a vanity or lipstick tray. I noticed the round blue marks on the inside of the base under the two holes on each side and wondered if it could be an inkwell which is missing some accessories. I have seen both vanity trays and inkwells in this shape and so wasn't sure which it is. If it is an 18th. century piece, then it might be a lipstick tray as lipsticks in stick form were introduced in France in the second half of the 18th. century (I think I read this somewhere). However, I don't know if such vanity or lipstick trays were used then.
The item is in very decent condition. It appears to be hand-painted. It has the markings "LS Sevres France" in red on the base followed by the number 7413 in blue. I don't know if 7413 is indicative of the date of manufacture or something else. There is a number 860 marked into the top center of the base. I have read that LS was used to identify the La Seinie factory which made hard paste porcelain and operated between 1774-1794. It sent the porcelain to Paris porcelain workers and its pieces were supposedly signed in red. Its work was in Sevres style but bolder. However, I have not seen any identified La Seinie pieces on the Internet with which to compare and confirm the make of this item.
So, IÂ am in the dark on this. Please see the photos for more information.
Thanks in advance for any help.
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Re: French porcelain vanity tray (or inkwell?)