Hand painted Alentejo miniatures: small Christmas gifts and what they hold

By Sérgio Carvalho, co-founder of Ra-Ro · View profile

About a 4 minute read

I moved house many times before I was old enough to choose, from the Minho to the Ribatejo, from Funchal to Lisbon, and there is a rule you learn fast in those moves. The big furniture stays. The small things come with you, in a shoebox, in a coat pocket, at the bottom of a suitcase. Perhaps that is why we look after what fits in a hand more carefully. It weighs less. It says more.

Hand painted Alentejo miniatures are small household pieces decorated with the flowers and sprays of Alentejo painted furniture, and they make a craft Christmas gift that fits in any home. In Redondo, a municipality in the district of Évora, the artisan Zézinha, who has painted Alentejo furniture for four decades, painted three: a jewellery box with drawers and compartments on top, on a red ground; an egg cabinet with a shelf and bars, on a dark green ground, that looks as if it came from a doll's house; and a miniature watering can on a yellow ground. They are for using, for keeping things in, and for reminding people far away of the Alentejo.

There was a time when playing also meant inventing a whole house at doll scale, with rooms, cupboards and clothes to put away. I cannot say when that love of miniature houses began, or who made the first ones, and I would rather not make it up. I do know that anyone who grew up that way instantly recognises a little box full of drawers or a cabinet with bars. Zézinha's miniatures recall that world, with a practical advantage: they bring Alentejo painting to people who have no room for a chest or a rush seated chair.

Three pieces, three people

The jewellery box has drawers and compartments on top, and a red ground covered in flowers. The drawers keep apart rings, earrings, pins, a christening medal, a button that has lost its coat. It is the gift for someone who keeps family jewellery, or for a goddaughter starting a collection of her own. At a time when almost everything is stored in a cloud, there is an old satisfaction in opening a drawer and finding what you left inside.

The egg cabinet is small, with a shelf and bars to hold the eggs. Its dark green ground is one of the traditional colours of Alentejo furniture, alongside blue, garnet, red, yellow and white. In the kitchen it keeps the eggs on show; on a bookshelf it makes passers by smile. It suits someone with hens in the garden, someone who cooks every day, a grandmother who remembers furniture like this.

The miniature watering can, on a yellow ground, was made to be used. It waters small pots, herbs on the windowsill, the house plant that survives everything. There is something right about tending plants with an object that also has flowers. For a child, it could be the first piece of craft that is truly theirs.

What you give

A hand painted miniature is a small piece with the same painting as a large one, made by the same hand and with the same time. Zézinha marks the centre of each flower with her finger and finishes the rest with a brush, in softer tones, so no two miniatures come out the same. I believe belonging is a feeling before it is an address. Whoever receives a box painted in Redondo also receives a little of that place and of the Alentejo houses these flowers have decorated for generations. Do you give the piece, or the place it comes from? Perhaps both, perhaps only the second. It is a question worth asking.

For the journey to whoever will receive it, tissue paper or a cloth protects the paint, and a card with the painter's name and her town, Redondo, in the Alentejo, does the rest. At home, a dry spot away from radiators and strong sun, and a soft cloth for the dust. Nothing more. If the gift is going abroad, it is worth reading what we wrote about sending handmade Portuguese gifts overseas.

The small things come with us. This is a good time of year to choose which. There are more ideas in our guide to handmade Christmas gifts, and Zézinha's other pieces, like the black ground tea tray, are in the shop.

Frequently asked questions

What Alentejo craft Christmas gifts can I give?

Hand painted pieces such as a jewellery box, an egg cabinet, a miniature watering can, a bicado jug, a tea tray or coasters.

What is Zézinha's hand painted jewellery box like?

It has drawers and compartments on top, a red ground and flowers hand painted in Redondo, in the Alentejo.

Can the egg cabinet really hold eggs?

Yes. It has a shelf and bars made for eggs, and it also works as a decorative piece on a shelf.

Can the miniature watering can be used?

It can. It is suitable for small pots, herbs and house plants.

Are hand painted miniatures all identical?

No. Each one is painted by hand, one at a time, and the flower centres are marked with a finger, which creates small differences between pieces.

How do I care for a hand painted miniature?

Dust it with a soft, dry cloth and keep it somewhere dry, away from heat sources and direct sun.