Imperial Egg Limoges Boxes
Imperial egg Limoges boxes borrow their manners from the Russian court. Cobalt shells wear gold lattice, burgundy eggs carry fine stripes, and a black and gold egg sits on a pedestal like something carried into a palace on a cushion. None of them have anything to do with a spring egg hunt. Many stand on small gilded feet or brass stands, and several open to a tiny perfume bottle tucked inside the shell. A few hang a silk tassel from the base, and some turn into picture frames with an oval window for a photograph.
One crystal egg holds an 18K gold ring, and a Marie Antoinette blue egg ties itself up in a painted bow. Every shell is porcelain shaped and painted by hand in Limoges, France, then fitted with a hinge and a neat clasp. Set three or four on a mirrored tray or behind glass in a curio cabinet, where the gold catches the light. They make a fine anniversary present for a wife who admires the Faberge collection at the museum, or a quiet reward for the man who keeps cufflinks in an egg rather than a drawer.
