How to Clean and Repair Limoges Boxes and Figurines on your Own

Your Limoges boxes and figurines--steeped in unique aesthetic charm and timeless beauty, require proper care and maintenance. These exquisitely crafted and hand-painted Limoges boxes are valuable and need to retain their intrinsic worth—especially the ones made from special Kaolin clay and other delicate raw materials.

Dust them Off

Your figurines and porcelain boxes boast of numerous curves and corners. These are the ideal resting places for dust particles and other pollutants. It’s worthwhile to trigger off a regular regime of dusting these items lightly with a soft cloth—on a regular basis. Everyday care will prevent dust accumulation and eliminate the fear of scratches and other damages.

Handling Crevices

Even though you have taken adequate care to maintain your Limoges boxes and figurines, it is quite natural for dust to percolate into the embedded crevices and cracks. Take a bowl of warm water and add a few drops of mild detergent to make a frothy cleansing solution. Just dip your Limoges figurines and boxes into the same –after brushing off the dry dust.

Soak for ten minutes and then wipe off the soapy water with a soft sponge. You may use a soft bristled dusting brush to dislodge the dust in the crevices. Soak these porcelain pieces in distilled water and then dry off with a soft cloth.

Removal of Hard Stains

It may be a bit difficult to get rid of difficult stains on your dinnerware, Limoges figurines or miniatures. Soak them in a bowl of warm water mixed with mild detergent for about 20-30 minutes. The detergent should be free from chlorine or bleach. Prolonged soaking will make the stains fade away gradually. Use a soft brush to remove the tougher stains. Soak for 5 minutes in distilled water and pat dry.

Repairing Limoges Boxes

If you can see a crack on the surface of your precious figurines then you need to invest some time to correct the same. Minor chips and cracks can be repaired easily. You just need to procure epoxy putty, razor blades/butter knife, silicon carbide paper, cold-cure lacquer and some artist brushes.

Scrape off a little amount of epoxy putty with a butter knife on the cracked/chipped off place. Dampen and smoothen out the area by taking some water on knife and pressing the same on the damaged area. Remember to be gentle and careful. After the putty dries, you can use a small piece of silicon carbide paper to smoothen it further. Apply a thin coat of cold-cure lacquer (white) with an artist's brush and leave to dry –for at least 12 hours. Acrylic paint can be used as a touch up—if necessary.

If cleaned and maintained with care, your dinnerware, Limoges boxes and trinket boxes and all other dainty pieces of porcelain can keep looking as good as new—for a longer time.

How are your Limoges Items Made?

Every Limoges item that you come across will be unique and exquisitely made. Its appeal comes from the meticulous process that goes into creating each one of the exquisite pieces. So the next time you are out purchasing Limoges boxes, knowing the process of how it got to the shelf is a great way to realize its true value.

Step I

The first step of making these exquisite collectible trinkets involves creating a design for the molding. Artists plan these design and they draw it by hand to get an idea on how the finished product will look. The design comes with elaborate features such as the proper curves the mold will take, the color scheme, and the images it will represent.

Step II

After a satisfactory version of the design is created, a mold is developed for the Limoges boxes. This mold will be used to handle the proper shape of the box or the figurine. Considering that this mold has a temporary life a new mold is made after it has been put to use over a few dozen times

Step III

After the mold is created, a thick porcelain solution will be poured into it. Rochard Limoges boxes and other Limoges products source this porcelain from a variety of places. Fledspar and Quartz are the most commonly used forms of porcelain. These materials are extremely durable allowing the creation of thick walls for boxes and figurines.

Step IV

Once the porcelain is poured into the mold, it is left out for one day for drying. On the completion of this process, the figurine or box will be taken in by the artist for hand finishing.

Step V

In this stage, the box or figurine will be smoothed out by hand in a way that all the jagged edges are gotten rid of. After this process, the Limoges item is placed in a kiln that burns at 900 degrees Celsius.

Step VI

Now it is time to venture into the painting process. Here, the material will be dipped in enamel before it placed in a kiln again, this time at1200 degrees Celsius. Paint can be applied on the material after this process is complete.

The darker hues such as blue and the brighter shades such as red will be separately handled. As each color is added on the Limoges item, it will need to spend some time in the kiln again. The heating process for darker shades is typically more intensive than that used for lighter shades.

At the end of this process, your boxes get hinges attached to it, to create memorable collectibles. Note that every authentic Limoges item is hand painted. Most of them come with extremely elaborate detailing that adds to its monetary and aesthetic value.

Cleaning and Maintaining your Delicate Limoges Boxes and Figurines

All of us are charmed with the unique appeal of Limoges boxes and figurines, with their scrupulous imagery and vivid hues.  You may have been collecting these exquisite pieces for some time now or may be this is the first piece you ever received as a gift from someone special. Either ways, it is extremely crucial to keep them clean and well maintained. This will help in keeping your precious box or figurine looking brand new for years to come.

Cleaning the Crevices

Using a solution of warm water and mild detergent is the best way to clean the dirt or dust that has settled in the crevices of your trinket box or figurine. Adding a few drops of the detergent will be enough. One may use a soft cloth to remove the debris. One can even soak their box in the detergent solution for some time and then use a light sponge to wipe off any accumulated dust or dirt.

To remove tough stains from their porcelain box, soak the same in a solution of warm water and mild detergent for approximately half an hour. Ensure that the detergent one uses does not contain any bleaching agent or chlorine that can damage the imagery on these items. These stains will most likely fade away after 20 to 30 minutes. After this one should remove the item from the cleaning solution and wash it gently with distilled water. Thereafter, pat the item dry with a smooth and soft cloth and it will look as good as new.

Repairing them

One should handle these items carefully or else they can easily develop cracks on the surface. One can easily mend minor cracks and chips on the surface of your Rochard Limoges boxes or figurine by filling them up with epoxy putty using a butter knife. Once the putty has dried, one needs to smoothen it with silicon carbide paper. Applying a top coat of white-colored lacquer which is the cold-cure variety by using a soft artist’s brush helps a lot. By properly caring and maintaining these collectible items one can be sure that they will last a lifetime

A Better Idea

One should keep the collection in a curio cabinet. Because of its closed environment, they can be barred from being exposed to light and dust. Plus, it will prevent interaction with people and pets averting breakage from accidents. It further ensures that dust will not catch in the grooves and the sunlight will not make the paint fade.

These boxes are the representation of French artistry and grace of the uppermost peculiarity and style.  These splendid hand-painting and metal works boxes and figurines have long been hunted after by accumulators worldwide. If maintained well they can shoot up in their value too and preserving them is no herculean task.

Interesting Facts about Traditional Limoges Boxes

Over time, traditional Limoges boxes have become a popular collectible due to their worldwide status as precious works of art. These delicate porcelain boxes were originally made of Kaolin clay and manufactured in a city called Limoges in France.

If you too have been left enchanted by the beauty of these boxes and figurines and want to start collecting them, it would be of great help for you to know some interesting facts about them. These lesser known facts about these figurines and boxes will not only help you distinguish between an authentic piece and a cheap knock off but also to build an impressive collection that is of great value.

Differentiating on the basis of quality

It may come to you as a surprise that not all traditional kaolin clay boxes are of the same quality. If you want nothing but an authentic box, you should check the stamp at the bottom of the piece and make sure that it bears a ‘Limoges, France’ insignia. This indicates that the piece has been manufactured in the region of the same name in France and is an original piece and not a cheap reproduction manufactured in China.

However, even the traditional Limoges boxes bearing the above-mentioned insignia differ in quality, as different manufacturers in the region use different production techniques and materials to make these boxes. The finer is the quality of moulds and paints used for making these figurines and pieces, the better is their quality, and the higher is their prices. Moreover, the use of meticulously designed accessories also adds to the value of the piece, thus making is more expensive.

Look for limited edition pieces for your collection

You can be sure about getting value for your money if you choose to buy a limited edition piece. This is because all authentic boxes and figurines are manufactured in a limited number after which their moulds are thrown away. An authentic piece will bear the number of the particular design at its bottom. These are rare pieces of collection/s that are long savored later.

Steer clear of American and Chinese pieces

As already mentioned above, original Limoges boxes and figurines are manufactured with a special type of porcelain that is found in France. However, the popularity of these collectibles has led to the market being flooded with several American and Chinese reproductions of the same. These are of inferior quality, have poor texture and imagery, and are no more than cheap imitations that you should steer clear of at all costs if you are building a collection of traditional Limoges boxes.

These facts about these collectible boxes should stand you in good stead while buying the product to last for years to come.

How to Care and Maintain Your Limoges Porcelain Boxes

Whether you are passionate about collecting antique items or love adorning your home, the Limoges porcelain boxes can be valuable additions to your home vintage collections. While the beauty of these boxes with their impressive designs and exquisite artistry is something to treasure, they can also give you handsome returns at auction later on.

Whatever be your purpose of collecting these pieces of art, maintaining, and taking proper care of them is essential to keep their true worth intact. Peek at some of the things that you can do for maintaining your Limoges boxes.

Opening the Limoges Box

The very first thing that you need to pay attention to is to ensure that you do not end up damaging the hinges of the box while opening it. These are delicate items and should be handled with extreme care. When opening the box keep the metal clasp in the front and place your thumbnails in between the metal rims, pulling them gently in opposite directions.

Remember, the metal clasp is for the purpose of decoration and therefore pulling it may cause it to tamper. You should never use any sharp object like knife while trying to open the box, nor try to pull the porcelain. Just as you had been gentle in opening the box be considerable in closing it too.

General Care and Maintenance

Like any objects of décor at your home, your Limoges porcelain products also require little bit of regular maintenance which can be as trivial as mere dusting. However, since the objects are ethereal, you have to use a soft cloth to ensure that the painting is not maimed or scratched in the process. For occasions, you can simply wipe off the additional dust with a soft cloth.

Removing Stains

Upset about those stains, which marred the beauty of your glistening white Limoges box?  Do not worry, for there is a remedy for this too. For this, all you need to do is fill up a dishpan or a sink with sufficient padding on sides with warm water and 2 tablespoons of mild detergent or dishwashing liquid along with a one-fourth cup of cleaning powder.

The latter should be free from ammonia, chlorine, bleach and solvents as these ingredients are harsh and a strict no-no on such delicate porcelain figurines and boxes. Let your porcelain boxes to soak for about 20 to 30 minutes when you can see the stains disappearing. If the stains are deep-rooted and have gone inside crevices, you can go for a repetition of the process. Once the stains disappear, simply wash the items with warm water, and pat dry with a soft towel.

One final tip, it is always worthwhile to test whether your Limoges boxes are not getting tampered further and is compatible with the solution. Test it out with a soaked cotton ball on a smaller area.