18th Century and Earlier Fountains

Hand carved stone container farm sink fountain trough basin planter antique LA . 18th Century water basin of hand carved stone container. Color and patina keeps changing with the light and the seasons . this trough could be installed with a simple bronze metal spout or a carved stone fountain head , we have many options of them , in order to create a charming garden water fountain for your pets or to have it as a dog bowl . Three holes at the bottom , you could have them filled up and resurfaced , or you could resurface it with metal sheet A nice size stone trough from Provence. The centuries left its marks on this container and a very nice patina. Installed will be the focal point of any landscape design laid on gravel or mounted as a kitchen Farm sink or powder room sink , or in the center of a larger fountain...

As tradition this timeless Italian classical sink is cut from one single block of white marble, the designs have not changed since Greek and Roman times, it carries superb artistic m...

A beautifully carved white Carrara marble wall fountain head from 18th Century France with a fluted top, rounded body, with carved leaf border detai...

Fountain basin and its base in gray marble from the Ardennes. The two elements had to be integrated into the masonry of a facade and surmounted by a niche. gadrooned basin and base c...

Hand Carved Stone Container Fountain Basin Tub Planter Firepit Trough Antique LA . Exquisite Very Large 18th century water fountain basin of hand ...

Hand carved stone container trough farm sink fountain basin antiques LA Fire pit 18th century exquisite water fountain basin of hand carved stone Lavoir. This trough could be install...

Hand carved stone container fountain trough basin planter antique farm sink LA. Late 17th early 18th century small water fountain basin of hand carve...

18th century water fountain Lavoir basin Tub of hand carved stone. This trough could be installed with a simple bronze spout or a carved stone fountain head, we have many options of ...

A rare early 18th century Italian wall fountain.

With a arched back panel with cherub pouring water from an urn surrounded by cattails over a basin with shaped rim and gadrooned underside supported on a carved dolphin form support ...

A very stunning 17th century - Louis XIV period Fountain Head - in the form of a lion. Beautifully crafted in cast iron - now resting on its stand. A striking accent piece for any bo...

Beautiful well dating back to the 1600s. Item originates from France.

Sea monster Carrara marble mouth fountain Italy, late 16th century It measures 13.8 x 31.5 x 18.9 in (35 x 80 x 48 cm) State of conservation: some small evident gaps and widespread signs of wear due to outdoor exposure. The gray marks crossing it do not come from restoration, but are rather the natural veins of the marble. This work has some morphological characteristics typically associated with the iconography of the sea monster: an elongated muzzle, sharp teeth, protruding eyes, elongated ears, and a coiled serpent's tail. An in-depth series of studies on artistic depictions of the sea monster attempted to verify how this symbol evolved in antiquity in the European and Mediterranean contexts and how it gradually changed its image and function over time. The iconography itself is mutable and imaginative and its history is rich with cultural and artistic exchange, as well as the overlapping of ideas. This occurred so much that it is difficult to accurately pinpoint the "types" that satisfactorily represent its various developments. However, we can try to summarize the main figures, starting from the biblical Leviathan and the marine creature that swallowed Jonah (in the Christian version, this figure was to become a whale or a "big fish", the “ketos mega”, translation of the Hebrew “dag gadol”). Other specimens ranged from the dragons mentioned in the Iliad (which were winged and had legs) to "ketos” (also from Greek mythology), the terrifying being from whose Latinized name (“cetus”) derives the word "cetacean". See J. Boardman, “Very Like a Whale” - Classical Sea Monsters, in Monsters and Demons in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, in Papers presented in Honor of Edith Porada, Mainz am Rhein 1987, pp. 73-84). In Italy the monster underwent yet further variations: it can be found in Etruscan art on the front of some sarcophagi representing the companion of souls, while among the Romans we find the “Pistrice” (cited by Plinio in Naturalis Historia PLIN., Nat., II 9, 8 and by Virgilio in Eneide: VERG., Aen., III, 427), which appeared in the shape of a stylized hippocampus or a very large monstrous cetacean and evolved into a hideous being with a dragon's head and long webbed fins. During the Middle Ages, the sea monster was the object of new transformations: at this time, it is often winged, the head is stretched like a crocodile, the front legs are often very sharp fins - sometimes real paws - until the image merges with dragons, the typical figures of medieval visionary spirituality widely found throughout Europe (on this topic and much more, see: Baltrušaitis, J., Il Medioevo fantastico. Antichità ed esotismi nell’arte gotica, Gli Adelphi 1997). In Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, the revival of classicism - representative of the humanistic and Renaissance periods - led to a different reading of these "creatures". Indeed, the sea monster was also to find widespread use as an isolated decorative motif, especially in numerous fountains and sculptures where dolphins or sea monsters were used as a characterizing element linked to water (on this theme see: Chet Van Duzer, Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps, London, The British library, 2013). From the morphological point of view, the "sea monsters" of this period are mostly depicted as hybrid figures, in which the body of a mythological or real being (a hippocampus, a sea snake, a dolphin), is joined to a head with a rather indistinct appearance. It was usually characterized by large upright ears, an elongated snout, sharp teeth and globular, protruding eyes; a complex and indefinite figure, both from the symbolic point of view and from that of its genesis. The work we are examining is placed as a cross between the medieval sea serpent and the Renaissance dolphin, with stylistic features which recall the snake as often used in heraldry (such as the "snake" depicted in the coat of arms of the Visconti - the lords and then dukes of Milan between 1277 and 1447 - and which, for some, may be derived from the representations of the “Pistrice” that swallowed Jonah). In the search for sources, Renaissance cartography and in particular woodcuts should not be neglected. See for example the monsters of Olaus Magnus, from the editions of the “Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus” (“History of the peoples of the north”) and the natural histories of Conrad Gesner, Ulisse...

Antique 18th century Italian red Verona and white Carrara marble floor fountain.  

Renaissance Wellhead Hand Carved Marble Container Planter Basin Water Fountain . A rare and impressive Historic Italian 15th century Renaissance hand carved marble well head square shape with scrolls to the corners. Decorated with 3-dimensional vessels and armorial with a rampant lion with raised forelegs as if to strike and ready for battle. To be used as an interior planter stone container, focal point, water feature fountain...

Carrara marble fountain with its gray Sainte Anne marble base. French. circa 1700 18th century. It works as a source. It has a small restoration as can be seen in the photo. ...

Original antique wine cooler from the Louis XIV period in Rouge Royal marble. This amazing piece has great measurements. Perfect for a hand washer...

Village water pump fountain in limestone with a double trough also made from limestone in front of it.

Stunning, solid white, Carrara marble lions head from a fountain in Florence featuring a flowing main and a fabulous patina. Mounted on a custom, iron base. The piece hails from the ...

On an antique bluestone ornament.

Ancient fountain in gray stone, hand-carved with the name of the country it comes from, built entirely by hand in the late 18th century, from France....