Round Periwinkle Limoges Box with Sevres Roses

Periwinkle is the color of early spring violets, and it makes a soft ground for the roses painted on this round box in the classic Sevres manner. Every rose was brushed on by hand for this porcelain Limoges box, made in Limoges, France.

A Nod to Sevres

Sevres is the famous royal porcelain works near Paris, known for colored grounds framing panels of painted flowers. The rose motif on this lid borrows that formal French look, while the periwinkle gives it a fresh, gentle feel. Painted entirely by hand, each box shows slight shifts in the petals and shading.

Rose Garden Grouping

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Suits a rose, floral or classic French porcelain collection
• Pairs well with lavender, lilac and soft blue pieces

History in a Small Round

Round lidded boxes like this one became fashionable in eighteenth century France, when ladies and gentlemen carried them for snuff, pills or beauty patches. Limoges itself has produced fine hard-paste porcelain since the late 1700s, when white kaolin clay was found near Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche. Today the shape lives on as a decorative piece, most at home on a vanity tray, a bedside table or a writing desk.