Chinese Wood Architectural Support

Two round sockets, notches at both ends, and a job description nobody wrote down.

This architectural support is elm wood from China, 19th century. Traditional Chinese timber buildings depended on joinery more than on nails, with beams and supports locking into one another through carefully cut sockets and notches. This long, thick plank shows that logic plainly. Rectangular notches are cut into both ends. Two large round recesses sit along its center, each with a small rectangular mortise. The surface is gray-brown, with an open, ridged grain, scattered small holes and a split near one notch. It runs 95 inches on its long side and 37 on its short.

It looks retired. It does not look idle.