Antique French Limestone Trough

A large round antique French limestone trough with warm color in it: gold, ochre and sienna across the thick pitted walls, with charcoal in the deeper pits. Inside, a dark band rings the upper edge where the water level stood for years, and below it the walls are smoother and run down to a flat floor. The top rim is crusty and irregular all the way round.

It measures 47 inches across and 26 inches high, large for a round trough, with walls thick enough that the interior is noticeably smaller than the outside suggests. It is French stone, 18th or 19th century to judge by the form. The waterline band is a stain in the stone and reads as a deliberate detail once the trough is filled again.

At the center of a paved courtyard it is the catch basin for a low bubbler; in a shaded corner it holds still water as a round reflecting pool; beside a dining terrace it can be filled with ice and wine on a warm evening. Dark river stones beneath it or low ferns around the base bring up the gold in the limestone. This limestone trough has sold. Round troughs of this size come to us a few times a year; ask and we will send what is current.