Chinese Pillar Base - Pumpkin Form

Nature made the pumpkin soft. A mason in China corrected that.

A stone pillar base in pumpkin form, this piece comes from China and dates to the early 18th century. Traditional Chinese halls rested on timber posts, and each post needed stone underfoot to bear its load and keep out the wet. Many-seeded fruits stood for abundance in Chinese art, which may explain the choice of shape. Deep lobes swell up to a scalloped band around a flat, round top, above a faceted foot. Pale stone shows gray-green shading in the grooves. Height is 14 inches, diameter 16.

Compost was never an option.