Chinese Double Lotus Base

Taller and slimmer, this cylinder stacks a smooth rounded roll between two petal tiers.

This double lotus base is from China. It is marble. Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from limestone, and its fine grain makes it suitable for carving and polishing into smooth surfaces. Flat top with a pattern of small scrolls beneath, then a petal ring, a plump middle bulge carved with curling lines, and a lower petal ring above the foot. Cream surface with orange-yellow staining. It is 7 inches high and 6 in diameter.

A stack of carved rings that never loses its balance.