Willy Guhl Square Planter

This Willy Guhl planter is a small square, solid enough to pass for a block of masonry taken from an old estate wall. The rigid lines of the form set off whatever soft growth goes inside it. The exterior carries a pale ash gray finish that looks like weathered whitewash; where the patina has worn away, warmer sand tones and faint olive markings show through. The texture is dry and scuffed, with the clouding and abrasion that only come from years outdoors.

It measures 13 1/4 inches square and 11 3/4 inches high. It is an original Eternit piece, Swiss and mid-century, in fiber cement, and the wear is surface only; the walls and corners are sound.

The scale suits a stair landing, a balcony ledge or a garden table, with a single architectural plant or a cluster of herbs within reach of a kitchen. Two or three in a row on a low wall look right. It is light enough to move by hand, which is not true of a stone planter the same size. This Willy Guhl planter is in Marina Del Rey; see it by appointment, or ask for photographs and a quote.