Antique French Cast Iron Urn in Aged Verdigris Patina

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This little urn feels like it once lived on a stone terrace somewhere just outside Paris — holding geraniums, rainwater, … Read more This little urn feels like it once lived on a stone terrace somewhere just outside Paris — holding geraniums, rainwater, maybe secrets. Its powdery blue paint has faded into soft greens and rusted whispers, turning the surface into something almost painterly. Cast iron with the soul of stone, it’s heavy for its size and quietly monumental, like a miniature architectural relic you can hold in your hands.

A beautifully scaled antique cast iron urn, likely of European origin, modeled after classical garden forms seen throughout France and England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The piece features a flared trumpet rim with subtle relief, a tapered baluster body, a gadrooned (ribbed) lower bowl, and a stepped square plinth base — a silhouette drawn directly from Roman and neoclassical architectural urns.

Unlike the heavier, more industrial cast iron urns produced in America during the same period, this piece displays a refined, sculptural quality and elegant proportions consistent with European foundry work, where iron was cast with the delicacy and intention of fine sculpture.

Perfectly scaled for interior use, this urn works beautifully on a mantel, console, bookshelf, or tabletop, or as a small pedestal for dried botanicals, moss, or simply as a sculptural object in its own right. See less