Willy Guhl Tilted Planter

This Willy Guhl planter is a high-contrast version of the tilted form. Decades of exposure have left the outer pedestal with a thick chalky white coating that is peeling hard, while the inside of the slanted basin has darkened to a near-black mineral-stained finish. The diagonal cut turns the opening toward the viewer, so the dark interior is the first thing you see.

It measures 25 inches in diameter and 18 inches high. It is an original Eternit piece from Switzerland, mid-century, in fiber cement. The peeling white is the character of the piece; we have not sealed it and advise against doing so, since the flaking will settle on its own.

The angled mouth shows whatever is planted in it without obscuring it, so low growers and trailing vines do best: a spill of ivy over the dark rim, or a mat of gray succulents against the black. It suits a gravel courtyard, a stone terrace, or a pale plaster entry where the raw surface sets off clean architecture. This Willy Guhl planter is in our yard in Marina Del Rey; come and see it, or ask for photographs and a quote.