I have an old painted ceramic pill or snuff box that has a metal
closure rim that is custom fit to the upper and lower rims of the box.
 There is a hinge opposite the opening side. The box has a blue mark
on the bottom like a capital V which has a loop on the upper right
side of the V that is like the loop of a letter P.  The mark is a
single character, not two letters. I have a hunch the box is European.
 Is there some old european ceramic
factory that used this mark?  Any help would be appreciated.  With
thanks, Marcia Lightbody

Dear 2lee,

Provided that the item in your possession is genuine, you can consider
yourself quite lucky: The combination of V and P you described was the
mark of the 18th century fayence manufactury Veuve Perrin in
Marseilles, France.

A little background history: The Perrin manufactury had been founded
by Claude Perrin. When he died in 1748, his wife Pierrette Candelot
became head of the company. Under her leadership, the manufactury
became well-known for superbly decorated fayence items, including
snuff boxes as the one you own. The company's painters were sent to
French art academies to acquire elegance and perfection in their work.
The mark on the bottoms of these items was the combined "VP" you
described, for "Veuve Perrin", which means "Perrin's widow". The Veuve
Perrin manufactury was closed in 1803, eight years after Pierrette
Candelot had died in 1793.

Follow this link [1] to see a snuff box similar to the one you
described; you will note that the price is $1000:
http://www.vialin.com/pottery/glass1.html

Two close-ups of the box and of the VP mark on the bottom:
http://www.vialin.com/pottery/BOX1_A.JPG
http://www.vialin.com/pottery/BOX1_D.JPG

The combined VP mark of Veuve Perrin was not standardized and exists
in numerous variants, in case the mark on your item looks slightly
different from the one on the photo. The two examples below, from
other Veuve Perrin items, show two examples of variant marks:
[2] http://bpics.rubylane.com/graphics/shops/mezzetin/0914-01.5L.jpg
[3] http://www.moorabool.com/stockpics/1005667/3.jpg

So the item in your possession is most likely a valuable French 18th
century snuff box made by Veuve Perrin.

Hope this answers your question!
Best regards,
Scriptor






Sources:

BBC: Antiques - Continental pottery
http://www.bbc.co.uk/antiques/collectors_guides/potteryporcelain_continentalpottery.shtml

Musées de Grasse: Céramique - La faïence de Marseille(in French)
http://www.museesdegrasse.com/mahp/fla/ceramique_marseille.shtml

Faïence de Marseille (in French)
http://www.porcelain-painters.com/MuseePastree/MuseePastre/MuseePastre.htm

[1] San Cristobal Antiques: Veuve Perrin snuff box, potter. Fayence c.1760
http://www.vialin.com/pottery/glass1.html

[2] Ruby Lane: Mezzetin Antiques, 18th Century French Faience
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/mezzetin/item/0914-01

[3] Morabool Antique Galleries: 18the Century Continental Pottery
http://www.moorabool.com/ceramicsf/C18thP/C18thP.html

Directiques: Veuve Perrin Snuff Box
http://www.directiques.com/InvDetail.asp?id=1110&doFrame=1

Search terms used:
"marked vp" porcelain
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=%22marked+vp%22+porcelain&btnG=Suche&meta=
"Veuve Perrin"
http://images.google.de/images?q=%22Veuve+Perrin%22&ndsp=20&svnum=10&hl=de&lr=&newwindow=1&start=0&sa=N&filter=0
"claude perrin" 1748 faience
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&newwindow=1&q=%22claude+perrin%22+1748+faience&btnG=Suche&meta=
"veuve perrin" vp
http://www.alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&cs=utf8&q=%22veuve+perrin%22+vp&rys=0&itag=crv
"veuve perrin"
://www.google.de/search?q=%22veuve+perrin%22&btnG=Suche&hl=de&newwindow=1

An A!