Red Oil Paint Tube Limoges Box

A tube of red artist's paint, the kind every studio has rolling around a worktable, becomes a small porcelain keepsake here. It is a hand-painted Limoges box, made in Limoges, France, with the bright red tube forming the whole piece.

Squeezed From the Studio

Painters go through tubes like these by the dozen, so there is a fun irony in seeing one rendered in fired porcelain and colored by hand by another painter. Red is the color of bold strokes, poppies and old barns, which makes it an easy pick for anyone who works in oils or acrylics.

Primary Colors on Display

• Hand-painted porcelain made in Limoges, France
• Suits an art studio, painter or fine arts grouping
• Pairs with palette, easel and paintbrush pieces

For the Easel Crowd

Give it to an art teacher at the end of the school year, a friend opening a first gallery show, or a weekend painter who finally set up a studio corner. On a bookshelf next to art books, or on a desk near a jar of brushes, it reads as a wink to the craft. Painters who collect Limoges boxes often build a little set of colors, and red is a strong place to begin.