Chinese Pillar Base - CAM

A timber column once needed something to stand on. Few got a lion and fruit.

This pillar base comes from Hebei Province, China, and dates to the 17th century. It is stone. Traditional Chinese buildings carried their weight on timber columns, and stone bases kept that wood up off the damp ground. This one is a stack of squared blocks, worn soft at the edges. A panel of round fruit and leaves sits above a playful lion with a curly mane, and scrolling forms run along the foot. Deep channels are cut into the top and bottom. Twenty-six inches high and 14 wide.

The lion appears pleased with the assignment. Most of the weight went elsewhere.