Antique French Limestone Trough

A large antique French limestone trough with heavy diagonal tool marks across its thick outer walls, laid in rows so regular they read as texture from a distance. One end carries a horizontal groove cut across the stone, sitting directly above a pair of round drainage holes. The outside is pale and coarse; the rim is flat and true; the deep basin inside is washed in warm rust and dusty bone tones where water sat for decades.

It measures 80 inches wide, 41 inches deep and 26 inches high, one of the wider troughs we have handled, with a basin big enough to work in with both arms. It is French, and the form puts it in the 18th or 19th century. The two drainage holes make it simple to plumb, and the block travels on a pallet for a crane set.

Set flush into a stone patio it becomes a long reflecting pool; placed beneath a sheer-descent waterfall it handles a heavy volume of water without splashing over. In an outdoor kitchen a stone trough this size is a wash sink for the whole garden. Cedar decking around it picks up the rust tones in the basin. This limestone trough has sold; we usually have wide troughs in the yard or on the water from France, and will gladly send what is current.