Diabolo Sculptural Planter

Details

Designer: Willy Guhl (1915–2004)
Model: “Diabolo” planter, manufactured by Eternit, Switzerland, 1950s
Material: Fiber cement
Dimensions: H 60 × Ø 40 cm
Condition: Vintage, with an aged and naturally weathered surface

Description

A spindle “Diabolo” planter by Swiss designer Willy Guhl, designed in 1951. Characterised by its distinctive hourglass silhouette, the piece is formed from two opposing conical volumes meeting at a narrow waist, creating a deceptively simple and highly architectural form.

Guhl’s work is celebrated for reducing everyday objects to their essential geometry, and the Diabolo is among his most recognisable designs. Originally conceived in fiber cement, its substantial materiality and restrained form give it a particularly strong presence, equally at home indoors or outdoors.

This vintage example has developed a beautifully weathered surface over time, with variations in colour, texture and patina that emphasise the character of the fiber cement. Rather than being decorative in the conventional sense, it has the quality of a small piece of modernist sculpture, functional, but quite capable of holding its own without a plant in it.