Chinese Carpenter's Plumb Line

Diamond lattice cut along the side, with a bright blue-lined well inside.

This carpenter's plumb line is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is wood. A plumb line is a cord with a weight at its end, used since ancient times to establish a true vertical when building and framing. Heavy dark box with a crisscross diamond pattern incised along one side and a raised, flared back end. A round blue-tinted well and a dark spool sit on top, and a bit of string trails from the left. It is 7 inches wide, 4.5 deep and 2.25 high.

Diamond-patterned, solid, and quietly smug about it.