A Sèvres quatrelobed tray 1772

plateau à baguettes, decorated with a pink and blue pointillé ground reserved with looped swags and garlands of flowers

There is a little rubbing to the pointillé ground to the right of the centre of the tray. There are some minor very shallow chips to the moulded bow handles. These ribbon bows also have minor rubbing to the gilded lines on the handles and the ribbons which continue to wind alomg the rims also. There are firing cracks at the point where the lobes intersect on the rim. One of these is more pronounced and has become extended into a fine crack which runs down the exterior almost to the footrim of the tray.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

There is another example of a tray of this shape at Waddesdon Manor, see Svend Eriksen, Sèvres Porcelain, 1968, p. 242-3, no. 84.  It bears the same incised mark j.  For a tea service with a matching tray of this shape see Linda H. Roth and Clare Le Corbeiller, French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain in the Wadsworth Atheneum, 2000, pp. 216-218, no. 104