Wind Up Toy Mouse Porcelain Limoges Box

Modeled on an old fashioned wind up toy mouse, with a mousetrap close by, this porcelain box is a playful game of cat and mouse in miniature. It is a hand-painted Limoges box made in Limoges, France, a decorative figurine box rather than a working toy.

Cheese, Please

Tin wind up mice have been a toy box favorite for generations, and the trap adds a wink of mischief. Paired together in porcelain, they make a little story the viewer fills in: will the mouse scurry past, or stop for the cheese?

Toy Chest Treasures

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Suits a mouse, toy or animal figurine collection
• Pairs with cheese, cat and vintage toy pieces

For Tinkerers and Cheese Fans

Set it on a kitchen shelf beside a cheese board, on a desk in a home workshop, or in a cabinet of vintage toys. It makes a fun birthday present for a toy collector, a clockmaker, a cheesemonger or anyone born in the Year of the Rat. A cat owner might enjoy it most of all, if only for the irony.

Limoges boxes are usually decorated by hand once the white porcelain has been fired, and the metal mounts go on by hand too. Even a playful subject like this mouse gets that same patient treatment.