French Antique Limestone Rotary Quern

A French antique limestone rotary quern, the two-stone hand mill that ground grain in the French countryside, and one of the more intimate architectural elements we have handled. The bedstone is deeply hollowed at its center into a bowl that cradles the round runner stone above. Both are weathered limestone with deep pitting, jagged edges and irregular organic discoloration, and the coarse grain shows the years of use and exposure. A narrow notch in the side of the lower stone let the flour out; a hole through the center of the runner let the grain in.

The assembly measures about 35 inches wide, 32 inches deep and 14 inches high; the runner stone is about 19 1/2 inches across. It is heavy, and the two pieces separate for transport. Every surface is as the last miller left it.

It would sit in a gravel courtyard among olives, on an old brick terrace, or in a rustic interior against smooth plaster, as an object rather than a mill. This quern has sold. We usually have other limestone pieces and architectural elements of the same rural kind in the yard or on the water; ask and we will send what is current.