Limoges Boxes France welcomes you.

We invite you to enjoy the pages of our site where you will find a great variety of Limoges Boxes for every special occasion. Please visit our Limoges Museum Collection and Limoges Babies’ Corner. If you would like a Limoges Box made specially for you please give us a call at 1-800-965-7467 and we will turn your Limoges Boxes idea into a perfect gift. You will be bringing home a piece of history through a French Limoges Box handpainted with traditional art and beauty to treasure for the years to come.

The History of Limoges Boxes

Limoges is a  city in the Limousin region of France. It became famous in the 18th Century due to the kaolin found in its rich soil able to produce the perfect mix of elements to create fine porcelain dishes, plates, center pieces, dinnerware and the French Limoges porcelain boxes that would make this city famous all over the world. 

Going back in the history of Limoges Boxes, we find the first porcelain pieces coming from China. In France,  a soft paste porcelain production was started in 1600s trying to find a similar item as the porcelain  that had arrived to the old continent from Asia. The French realized that the paste had to be fired at very high temperatures and found the earth surrounding the city of Limoges had the same minerals found at the mount Kao-Ling in China. A German alchemist discovered the perfect mix  to produce the base for the white mold of the Limogesporcelain box as we know it today in the earlies 1700s.

The city of  Limoges was already the home of very artistic pottery making  and by the late 1700s  Mr Turgot who was King Louis XVI's  businessman realized its importance for the economic development of the country.
 The first Limoges porcelain plates and dinnerware were made under commission of the Royal Court of France. The first plates had to be marked with royal crests or initials.

Sevres was the Royal porcelain factory. Limoges porcelain became LimogesRoyale as it was basically commisioned by the court.
The French Fleur de Lys was the symbol used to stamp the Limoges porcelain items in those days.
The French Revolution was the end of this exclusive royal commission type of industry. By the end of the 18th Century the Limoges industry started making progress with a commercial independent business sense. Limoges saw the establishment of many Limoges factories and creative designs would be allowed from that day on. The later part of the 19th Century can be considered the booming time for Limoges as international interest increased and production of Limoges dinnerware and Limoges porcelain improved with better techniques.

Many Limoges porcelain plates and Limoges porcelain boxes are recognized by the Limoges marks that they have on their back or base. In a way, the Limoges marks are like a true birth certificate of origin of that item and means value and tradition over time. It is very interesting to understand and learn the basics of Limoges marks expressed in letters or symbols of different colors.