Red Porcelain Soup Tureen Limoges Box

A deep red soup tureen, borrowed in miniature from the centerpiece of a formal dinner, forms this porcelain box. It is a hand-painted porcelain Limoges box, its color and trim brushed on in Limoges, France, the town known around the world for fine table china.

Ladle Ready Red

The tureen has been the pride of the dinner table for centuries, carried out with ceremony at the start of a meal. This one keeps the familiar tureen shape, lid and all, and its rich red color gives it a warm, festive feel.

Setting a Proper Table

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Suits a china, dinnerware or French kitchen collection
• Pairs with teapot, tea cup and the blue and yellow tureen box

China Cabinet Charmer

Tuck it in a china cabinet among the good plates, or set it on a sideboard during the holidays. It is a natural present for a host who loves to entertain, a chef, or a bride building her first set of fine china. Anyone who inherited a grandmother's tureen will see the connection right away.

The Town Built on Kaolin

Porcelain has been made in Limoges since the late 1700s, after kaolin, a fine white clay, was found near Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche in 1768. Tableware made the town famous long before the little boxes did.