Red Carousel Porcelain Limoges Box

Bright red paint sets this porcelain carousel spinning, even while it sits perfectly still on the shelf. Shaped and fired in Limoges, France, it is a hand-painted Limoges box that recalls the merry-go-rounds of town squares and seaside piers.

Round and Round the Fair

The carousel has turned at European fairs since the 1800s, and in France the manege remains a fixture of parks from the Tuileries to Montmartre. A painter in Limoges filled in the color on this piece by hand, so the reds and trim have the slight variations that only brushwork brings.

Riders on the Same Shelf

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Keeps company with circus tent, clown and calliope pieces
• Fits a carnival, amusement park or Paris park collection

A Ticket for Every Occasion

Choose it for a birthday at any age, for a couple who met at a county fair, or for someone who still asks to ride the painted horses. The strong red shows well inside a glass curio cabinet, on a bookcase in a playroom-turned-den, or on a nightstand beside a music box. Among softer pastel pieces, it becomes the spot of color the eye goes to first.