Yellow Tropical Fish Porcelain Limoges Box, Retired Design

Sunshine yellow from nose to tail, this tropical fish looks as if it just darted out of a coral reef. Painted by hand on porcelain in Limoges, France, this Limoges box comes from a design that has since been retired.

Bright as a Reef at Noon

The fish itself forms the whole box, so the shape and the color carry the piece. That cheerful yellow is the first thing anyone notices, and it stands out in a cabinet full of blues and greens. Because this design is no longer in regular production, collectors who want one usually have to find it on the secondary market.

Swimming With the School

• A retired design, hand-painted in Limoges, France
• Belongs in an ocean, reef or aquarium themed grouping
• Looks lively beside seashell, dolphin or sea turtle boxes

Island Time on a Shelf

Place it on a bathroom vanity, a beach house bookshelf or a sunny windowsill where the yellow can catch the light. It suits a snorkeler back from a Caribbean trip, a scuba diver logging another dive, or a friend who keeps a saltwater tank and talks about it often.

A single bright fish can wake up an entire coastal display, and this one does the job without needing anything else around it.