Chinese Stone Half Trough

Someone put a row of beads around the rim of a water trough, and nobody stopped them.

This half trough comes from Shandong Province, China, and dates to the early 17th century. It is stone. Stone troughs in rural China were generally carved for practical tasks such as holding water or feed, and half-round forms were often made to sit flat against a wall. The curved front is worked all over in a dense diagonal hatch, broken by a band of raised beading just below the rim. Warm brown and rose tones shift across the weathered surface, with a small loss near the base. It is 32.5 inches wide and 24 high.

Utility, with a little jewelry on top.