Antique French Limestone Trough

An antique French limestone trough with the darkest exterior in this group: a dense coat of charcoal and black organic staining over deeply pitted walls, spotted here and there with rust-orange lichen and mineral deposits. The rim is chipped and uneven along its length. Inside, the stone turns pale beige, and the floor still carries long diagonal tool lines from the day it was hollowed out.

It measures 57 inches wide, 33 inches deep and 23 inches high, a good proportion for a trough that will be seen from above as much as from the side. It is a French farm piece, 18th or 19th century by type, and the chips on the rim are old and softened, not fresh breaks. The dark staining is in the stone and will not wash off, and we would not try.

Set against a garden wall under a bronze spout, the deep interior takes a continuous flow. Sunk part way into a paved terrace, this limestone trough becomes a ground-level basin for rinsing cut flowers or vegetables from the kitchen garden. White stucco behind it or terracotta beneath it brings up the orange lichen. The piece has sold. Dark, heavily weathered troughs like this one come through the yard a few times a year; ask and we will send what is current.