French Antique 19th Century Limestone Trough

A round French antique limestone trough, low and broad, with the softened profile that only long outdoor use gives to stone. It is 19th century and French, and plain: a thick circular wall, a worn rim, a surface that has gone the uneven gray of weathered limestone with warmer patches where water has run. The roundness gives it a gentler presence than the rectangular troughs it sits among in our yard.

It measures 33 1/2 inches in diameter and 18 1/2 inches high. The basin inside is 30 inches across and about 11 1/2 inches deep, so the walls are slimmer than on most of our round pieces and the planting space is generous for a stone trough of this size. Condition is as found: weathered, with surface pitting and the small chips at the rim that come with age.

At under two feet high it suits a terrace or a small courtyard where a taller vessel would crowd the space. Plant it with a low mound of thyme or a single agave, set it at the turn of a path, or run a quiet bubbler into it as a birdbath-height fountain. The limestone trough is in Marina Del Rey; come see it by appointment, or ask for photographs and a quote delivered to your address.