Antique French Round Limestone Trough

An antique French round limestone trough, thick-walled and deep, in warm cream and pale beige with gray mineral deposits and dark staining. The exterior is granular and heavily scoured; a vertical ridge on the lower wall houses the drainage hole, and the base rests on low rounded lobes that lift the block a little off the ground. The rim is blunt and battered. Inside, the steep walls still show the rhythm of the original tool marks, running down to a smooth rounded bottom.

It measures 43 inches across and 28 inches high. The piece is French and, by type, 18th or 19th century. The lobes at the base mean it sits on them rather than on a flat face, which is useful on uneven paving; the drainage hole is ready for a fitting.

It makes a raised water feature in a courtyard or on a terrace, a round planter for a bay or a clipped olive, or a drinking trough for dogs and horses if you keep them. Against glass or honed stone the rough surface becomes the only texture in the picture. This limestone trough has sold. Round troughs come to us a few times a year; ask and we will send photographs of what is current.