Willy Guhl Tilted Planter

This Willy Guhl planter is the tilted form, a bowl on a pinched pedestal whose rim is cut at a steep slant so the planting faces the viewer rather than the sky. The lean looks restful and deliberate at once. Run a hand over the outside and it is abrasive, like dry soil. Pale ochre and warm beige cover the outer shell and shift abruptly to a light gray basin inside, where thick clusters of rust-colored crust cling to the upper curve above a smoother lower bowl. The lip is raw and jagged and shows the heavy cast mix.

It measures 25 inches in diameter and 18 inches high. It is an original Eternit piece from Switzerland, mid-century; the ochre coloring is weathering and sets it apart from the gray tilted planters we also have.

The slanted mouth suits low planting that would otherwise hide behind a rim: succulents, trailing vines, a mat of sedum. Set it beside a low linen sofa in a loft, in a reading corner, or on a flat stone-paved patio against the sky. It sits well on honed travertine, near matte black iron or pale oak. This Willy Guhl planter is in Marina Del Rey; see it by appointment, or ask for photographs and a price.