Chinese Pillar Base - Square

A perfect cube, if you measure it. The eye says otherwise.

This square stone pillar base comes from China and dates to the early 18th century. Chinese carpenters raised halls on timber posts, and a base like this kept the wood off wet earth while taking the full weight from above. A tapering waist sits between a stepped cap and a stepped plinth. The edges are softly rounded, and the gray stone carries streaks of green and rust brown. Each of its three dimensions comes to 15.5 inches.

Stubborn geometry, in a material that does not take suggestions.