Chinese Bench | Low Table | Pillar Base

It may have held up a building. Now it can hold up your coffee.

This bench, low table or pillar base comes from China and dates to the 17th century. It is marble. Chinese timber buildings commonly set their columns on carved stone bases, which kept the wood off the damp ground. Here a stepped rectangular block rises through several moldings. A band of scrolling leaves wraps the middle. Below it runs a row of small lotus petals, and cloud scrolls curl along the bottom edge. The stone is grey-white, with rust-colored spots and a worn look to its edges. Thirty inches wide and 16.5 high.

Several centuries in. No reason to expect it to move now.