Antique French Wire Basket

This antique French wire basket has hung in the doorway between Patricia and Walter Wells's iconic ocher kitchen and the pantry at Chanteduc, their farmhouse in Vaison-la-Romaine, holding garlic, for decades. Generously rounded, almost globe-like, it is formed from closely spaced fine wire ribs that curve to a flat base and open at the top. A structured wire handle rises from two points on the rim and meets at a central loop from which it hangs. The wire has aged to a warm, darkened bronze-grey, carrying the particular patina that comes from decades in a working kitchen. Patricia collects antique wire baskets and objects, and this one came from Chanteduc itself. The open weave keeps garlic well ventilated and close at hand — in a kitchen as active as Patricia's, simply good sense. Hung in a doorway, a pantry, or from a kitchen beam, it works just as well today for garlic, shallots, onions, or anything that benefits from air circulation and a little visual presence.