Every collector eventually wonders what it would be like to shrink down and move into the curio cabinet. This collection comes close. Here are Limoges boxes shaped like the furniture and houses of a very small, very charming world, each one a hand-painted porcelain box with a hinged lid, made in and around Limoges, France.
Pull up a comfy blue armchair with a book waiting on the seat, or a flowered footstool with a teacup balanced on top. Lounge on a sunny yellow fainting couch, peek into a vitrine full of tinier boxes still, and keep an eye on the cat who has claimed the top of the armoire. Then step outside to a French country cottage with a climbing trellis, a mill house above the river, and a medieval village tucked under its castle.
These make warm gifts for a new homeowner, a housewarming, a dollhouse lover, a decorator friend or anyone who still remembers a favorite room from childhood. Grouped together on a shelf, they become a little home of their own.
Rochard Vitrine Display Cabinet Limoges Box
Every collector dreams of the perfect display cabinet, and this one is already full. Look closely and you'll see tiny boxes on every shelf, each one holding, presumably, a tinier box inside. Somewhere in there, the smallest collector in the world is polishing the glass and wondering where to put the next one.
Armoire Cabinet with Cat on Top Limoges Box
The armoire holds the good linens, the winter quilts and Grand-mère's lace tablecloth. The top of the armoire, however, belongs to Minou. Nobody quite knows how she gets up there. She simply appears each afternoon, tail draped over the edge, supervising the household like a small furry queen on her throne.
Comfy Blue Chair with Book Porcelain Limoges Box Figurine
Rain on the windows, a blanket within reach and a novel waiting on the cushion: the blue chair has been ready since breakfast. Its owner keeps promising herself she'll sit down for just twenty minutes. Anyone who has ever owned a chair like this knows exactly how that will turn out.
Yellow Fainting Couch with Sun Pillow Limoges Figurine
Aunt Colette declared herself far too warm, swooned gracefully onto the yellow couch, and asked for a glass of lemonade. That was in July. She still uses the couch every afternoon, sun pillow tucked behind her head, with a novel and a fan, insisting it is purely for her health.
Rochard Washing Machine Limoges Box Figurine with Detergent
Monday is laundry day, and the little machine knows it. It hums, it sloshes, and once in a while it does a cheerful dance across the floor during the spin cycle. Somewhere inside, a single sock is planning its escape. It always gets away. Nobody has ever learned where they go.
Bed with Nightgown Limoges Porcelain Box
The sheets are turned down, the pillows plumped, and a nightgown has been laid out with care across the spread. Downstairs, the party is winding down and the last guests are saying their goodbyes. Upstairs, the bed waits patiently, the quietest and most welcoming room in the house.
Leopard on Black Couch Hand-Painted Limoges Box
Madame Léopard does not do mornings. She takes her coffee at noon, reads the fashion pages on her black velvet sofa and receives visitors only after three. Her spots, she will tell you, are not a pattern. They are a lifestyle. The cat next door is quietly taking notes.
La Gloriette Yellow French Country Cottage with Trellis Limoges
Roses climb the trellis a little higher every summer, and the yellow walls seem to soak up the sunshine all day long. The shutters stay open until dusk. If you pass by at the right moment, you'll smell bread in the oven and hear someone humming an old song in the garden.
Medieval Village and Castle Porcelain Limoges Box
The baker rises before the rooster, the blacksmith starts hammering at dawn, and up in the castle the young lord is still fast asleep. Down in the village square, everyone already knows tomorrow's news: there's to be a fair, with jugglers, and somebody's goat has escaped again.
Tiny Mouse Peeking from a House Limoges Box
Knock, knock. Who's there? A tiny gray nose appears at the door, then two round ears and a pair of curious whiskers. Monsieur Souris doesn't get many visitors. If you've brought cheese, you'll be invited in for the afternoon. If you haven't, he'll politely suggest you come back when you have.
Country Cottage on a Hill by the River Limoges Box
The old mill house has watched the river roll by for longer than anyone in the valley can remember. Ducks paddle past the bank, fishermen wave from their boats, and in the evening the windows glow gold across the water. It is the kind of place where clocks seem to slow down.
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