Chinese Candle Base with Lotus Motif

It looks like a flower that has decided to become furniture.

This candle base with lotus motif is a contemporary piece from Putian, Fujian Province, China, carved in camphor wood. Woodcarving in Putian is a celebrated regional craft, and the lotus is generally understood in Chinese tradition as a sign of purity rising from mud. The upper tier is a shallow bowl of pointed petals with a smooth, flat top. A broader bloom curls down beneath it, its petals rounded and deeply cut. Everything sits on an octagonal base with stubby feet and scroll-carved sides. It is 11.5 inches wide and 10 high.

Candles rarely get a pedestal this considered.