Chinese Natural Hardwood Vessel

A tree trunk, hollowed and still holding the shape of its grain.

Craftsmen in Guangdong Province, China, worked this natural vessel from elm wood in the late 19th or early 20th century. Rustic hollowed hardwood vessels were commonly used in rural households to hold grain, tools or umbrellas. The trunk is split with long, deep cracks and ridges, and the rim is open and uneven, flaring slightly at a rounded foot. The wood is pale honey, dry and bleached, with a small carved notch on one side.

About 23 inches tall. Umbrellas, kindling, or nothing at all.