Chinese Mortar or Grinding Vessel

A sturdy tub of rough, sand-colored grain, with a thick walled hollow in the middle.

This stone mortar or grinding vessel is from Shandong Province, China. Shandong is a coastal province in eastern China with a very long history of agriculture and craft, in which grinding vessels were everyday household tools. A tall, heavy cylindrical vessel with slightly flared sides and a wide, thick rim. The exterior is coarse and grainy, with chisel marks and pale yellow-brown tones. The inside is smooth and shallow. It is 16 inches high and 17.5 in diameter.

Built to be struck, ground, and thoroughly ignored.