Set of Five Antique Wrought Iron Pitchfork Heads from France

Patricia and Walter Wells have spent years collecting antique farm tools, and these five wrought iron pitchfork heads — gathered one by one over time — are among the most characterful things in the garden at Chanteduc, their farmhouse and cooking school in Vaison-la-Romaine.

Each head is forged from wrought iron and fitted with a cylindrical or tapered socket sleeve, made to receive a wooden handle. No two are alike: the group includes two-, four- and five-pronged examples, ranging from compact and sturdy to broad and elegantly splayed. The iron has aged to a deep, warm rust-brown, its surface textured by decades of outdoor work and weather.

At Chanteduc, Patricia and Walter display them exactly as found: nestled into the pine needles among the garden's bushes, in a cool shady spot where the dark iron reads beautifully against the ground and surrounding greenery.