Fennel Bulb Porcelain Limoges Box

A fennel bulb, layered and rounded, makes an unexpected and charming subject for a porcelain box. This hand-painted Limoges box was made in Limoges, France, and it celebrates one of the most graceful vegetables in the French market.

Anise Notes From Provence

Fennel is a staple of Mediterranean cooking, shaved raw into salads or roasted until sweet. Few collectors have one on the shelf, which makes this box a real conversation piece among the more familiar tomatoes and carrots. The overlapping layers of the bulb give the painters a lovely shape to follow.

A Market Stall in Miniature

Line it up with eggplant, lettuce and tomato boxes for a full Provençal market scene, or let it stand alone on a kitchen windowsill. It is a smart choice for a chef, a culinary school graduate, or a friend who just returned from cooking classes in the south of France.

Fired in the Heart of Limoges

• Limoges porcelain is hard-paste, fired at very high heat for its white body
• Painted by hand in Limoges, France, after that first firing
• Porcelain making in the region dates to the late 1700s

For anyone who browses the vegetable aisle looking for something less ordinary, this one is the natural pick.