de Le Cuona | Engraved Mortar with Beaten Top and White Stripes No.37 – Brown

This is a piece we bring in for clients who want a room to feel gathered rather than furnished, an engraved mortar with a beaten top, its surface worked by hand so no two are quite alike. The white stripes sit against the brown ground with a slight irregularity that reads as made, not printed, and it holds the eye the way a good piece of studio pottery does, without asking for attention.

We know it as No.37 in de Le Cuona's collection of found and worked objects, brown in colourway, sold as a single piece rather than a pair. The beaten top is the detail worth handling before it goes anywhere in the room, since the texture catches light differently depending on where it sits.

We use it on a console in a hallway, on a low shelf in a study, or grouped with two or three other objects on an occasional table where it can anchor the composition. It sits well against de Le Cuona's linens and wools, and we often place it near a lamp so the beaten surface catches side light in the evening.

There is no assembly required, but we do ask clients to check the base is stable on the surface it will occupy, particularly on polished stone or glass, where a small felt pad underneath prevents movement. Keep it away from damp or direct heat, and dust rather than wash. When styling, we tend to place it slightly off-centre rather than dead in the middle of a shelf, which keeps the arrangement looking considered rather than staged.