Tall Yellow Scalloped Limoges Box, Blue Flower Painted

Sunny yellow covers this tall scalloped box, and blue flowers bloom across it in a bright, happy contrast. It is a hand-painted porcelain Limoges box made in Limoges, France, and the lid follows the same rippled edge as the sides.

Provence in Yellow and Blue

Yellow and blue are the classic colors of Provencal fabrics, the cheerful prints that fill markets in the south of France. This box borrows that palette, setting cornflower toned blossoms against a golden ground. The flowers are painted by hand in Limoges, so each box carries small differences in the blooms.

Country Kitchen Pairings

• Hand-painted porcelain from Limoges, France
• Fits a floral, yellow or French country collection
• A natural partner for the light blue scalloped box in the same shape

The Glaze and the Brush

Like most Limoges boxes, this one starts as white hard-paste porcelain fired at very high heat, and only then do the painters add color by hand. Small porcelain boxes first became fashionable in eighteenth century France, and the tradition still thrives today. Set this one on a kitchen windowsill, a breakfast table or a sunny desk, where it adds warmth even on a cloudy morning.