Square Sevre Roses Pill Box in Limoges Porcelain

A simple square pill box serves as the canvas here, with the Sevre roses pattern painted over the lid and down the sides. It is a hand-painted porcelain Limoges box made in Limoges, France, in one of the most traditional shapes the town produces.

Four Sides of Roses

With no figure or novelty shape competing for attention, the roses do all the work. The clean square outline frames the painted flowers like a small picture, and the pattern carries around each side so the box looks finished from any angle.

Back to the Classics

Small porcelain boxes became the fashion in 18th-century France, when people carried them for snuff, pills and the little beauty patches worn on the face. A square pill box like this one keeps that old idea alive in its plainest, most graceful form.

Finding Its Corner

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Suits a traditional pill box or Sevre roses collection
• Sized for a nightstand, a desk or a dressing table

Many collections begin with a traditional box like this one, and it remains a graceful present for a bridesmaid, a teacher or a friend celebrating a birthday.