Rochard Standing Buffalo Limoges Box, Cowboy Hat Lifts Off

A buffalo plants all four hooves on the ground and stares straight ahead, with a cowboy hat perched on its shaggy head as if it just rode in off the range. Rochard made this hand-painted porcelain Limoges box in Limoges, France, and the hat lifts off for a closer look.

Where the Buffalo Roam

The joke works because the animal plays it completely straight. A bison is the great beast of the open plains, and topping it with a ranch hand's hat turns a serious wildlife subject into something with a wink. Rochard has a gift for that kind of humor, and the brushwork on this one is done entirely by hand.

Saddle Up the Shelf

• A Rochard design, painted by hand in Limoges, France
• Belongs with Western, ranch, rodeo and plains wildlife subjects
• Stands well beside horse, boot and longhorn pieces

Home on the Range

Put it on a den bookcase, a ranch office desk or a shelf near a pair of worn boots. It suits a rancher's birthday, a Wyoming or Montana trip souvenir, or a friend who quotes old Western films at dinner. Anyone who has watched a herd move across a valley in Yellowstone will recognize the spirit of it, even with the hat.