Leave Your Home in Ruins With Archaeology-Themed Decor

The classics never go out of style. But there’s a definite narrative right now in homewares design favouring stuff that looks like it’s just come out of an archaeological dig site.

What’s behind this we can only guess. Maybe we are yearning for the solidity of the classics? Collectively ready to retreat into our caves? Connecting with ancestral designs? Or just channelling our Indiana Jones impulses and surrounding ourselves with timeless beauty?

Unlike the stuff at your local museum, these pieces needn’t be treated reverently and placed behind glass. But they remain precious and chic, and full of tales of times gone by.

House of Aeros Venus sculpture candle
House of Aeros specialises in candle replicas of some of history’s most iconic marble masterpieces. This tribute to ancient love goddess Venus (Aphrodite, if you prefer her Greek name) looks like it belongs in the Louvre. Scented and hand-poured individually in Melbourne using a soy-wax blend and premium fragrance oils, it comes in a range of moody colours and scents, including Baltic Amber, Black Rose and Oud, and Livani (frankincense). $40

Degoey Planet David Deux Fois vase in mother of pearl
This Degoey Planet vase answers the question, “What if Michelangelo got distracted while sculpting David and accidentally gave him two sets of eyes?” Hand-formed from stoneware clay glazed with subtle pink-champagne gloss and mother of pearl lustre, it’s classical antiquity meets sci-fi camp. David Deux Fois is available in different colourways with a range of glazes and matte finishes, as well as a psychedelic red gingham. Made in Queensland. $340

Offcut Rosa Pink slab
Sydney label Offcut sources and redirects unwanted marble and stone slabs from stonemasons, and upcycles them into perfectly imperfect decor pieces you can use as cheese boards, coasters, soap dishes, candle holders and a whole lot more. Stack matching pieces to give height to your favourite treasures, or use one single slab for all the drama of an uncovered Roman ruin.
Small $40, medium $55, large $70

Catbirddog ceramics by Ginny Lagos
A fellow artist once called Ginny Lagos’s one-of-a-kind animal sculptures “a mix of Asian/New World/African sculpture/tomb guardians with Ren and Stimpy and Royal Doulton”, and it’s a description the Sydney potter is proud to stand by. Creating under the name Catbirddog, Lagos carves her works in clay before hollowing them out and firing them in a kiln – some are glazed, some are painted and some are coated in wax. $80 to $500

Studio Billie Ruins candle series
Ready to watch the (ancient) world burn? This Ruins set includes three candle designs – the Bridge, the Arch and the Stairs – inspired by the graceful architecture of classical Greece. Handmade to order in Sydney with antique-white natural soy wax, the trio would make an elegant bookcase display, or set them ablaze and turn down the lights for a dramatic midnight supper tablescape. $70 for set of three

Fasano Ceramiche solid peach amphora
The Fasano family has been making clayware in Italy’s Puglia region for generations. This classically shaped amphora is formed by hand in their workshop, before being fired, glazed and painted with a charmingly wonky, ancient-looking portrait. Featuring a warm peach colourway, it looks great filled with flowers and greenery, or just sitting grandly on its own. $320

Tegan Emerson Cradled Verdigris vessel
Crafted by Australian ceramicist Tegan Emerson for Makers Mrkt, this two-part stoneware vessel has the look of something rescued from an ancient Mesopotamian shipwreck or underwater cave. (Or maybe appropriated by Indiana Jones.) Glazed in a matte green that’s reminiscent of oxidised copper, the vase and plinth sections can be separated or displayed together. $735

Anye Object 02
Welcome to the Stone Age with this Anye Object candle moulded from a granite rock collected at Odden in Denmark. Angular and expressive, it’s handmade in Copenhagen and comes in eight colourways, with a burn time of up to 14 hours. Available in Australia via Too Pretty To Burn, the companion business to Flint electronic candle lighters. $55

Rubble Workshop Ava lamp
Rubble Workshop is a family business making witty Flintstones-inspired lamps, candlesticks, vases and menorahs that are part prehistoric and part curvaceous cartoon. Like all Rubble pieces, the Ava lamp is hand-carved in Adelaide from blocks of aerated concrete – similar in look and feel to natural stone – so each one is a little different. Ava is available in a handpainted stripe or plain linen shade. From $650

Clo Studios Tamegroute Turra vase in ochre
Noosa-based design atelier Clo Studios offers a curated line of handmade pieces from Morocco, including this little stunner from Tamegroute, a small town on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The angular forms and iron-oxide glaze of the ochre-coloured vase are traditional to the region, where pottery has been wheel-thrown and hand-built for centuries. $190