Stone

A stone trough from Shandong, cut by hand in the early 17th century. Antique stone vessels here include troughs, mortars and grinders from China and India, with petrified wood bowls from Java. Rough-hewn troughs from Shandong, Shanxi and Hebei once held water or feed in courtyards and farmyards. From Rajasthan come carved stone butter pots, and from western India, Jaisalmer stone kharal, used to grind chutneys and spices by hand.

Chinese mortars and grinding vessels from Shandong and Hunan sit beside marble censers with cloud motifs, a marble plate with dragons, a vessel carved with the wind horse, a jade lidded pot and a marble platform on cloud feet. India adds a marble offering bowl in shell form with entwined elephants and a white marble planter inlaid with carnelian. Plant a trough with moss in a garden, or set a kharal on a kitchen counter for salt or keys. Heavy enough to stay exactly where it is put, permanently.