Hand-Painted Sailboat Porcelain Limoges Box

A single sailboat, caught as if riding a light breeze, makes up the whole of this little porcelain piece. It is a hand-painted Limoges box, shaped and decorated in Limoges, France, with the boat itself forming the box.

Fair Winds on the Mantel

Sailboats have been a favorite subject for Limoges painters for generations, and it is easy to see why. The tapering hull and the rise of the sail give the eye a simple, graceful line to follow, and the hand-painted finish keeps each boat slightly different from the next one off the workbench.

Charting a Nautical Shelf

• Hand-painted porcelain made in Limoges, France
• Anchors a nautical, harbor or summer cottage grouping
• Pairs nicely with lighthouse, seashell and anchor pieces

For the Skipper in Your Life

Give it to the friend who keeps a tide chart on the fridge, a new boat owner on launch day, or a retiring sailor who finally has time for long afternoons on the water. On a bookshelf beside a ship in a bottle or a stack of sailing logs, it looks right at home all year.

Because it is small, it also travels well to a lake house or beach rental, where a single boat on a windowsill says more than a roomful of nautical prints.