Chinese Temple Pillar with Monkey

The monkey sits on top of the pillar, because of course he does.

This temple pillar with monkey is stone, from Shanxi Province, China, 17th century. Monkeys are a lively presence in Chinese art, often read as a pun on the word for high rank and loved for their link to the Monkey King of legend. Here he crouches, long limbed and heavy browed, above a short squared shaft. The shaft sits in a plain stepped plinth, with pale, rough-tooled faces. Sixty inches high and 16 wide.

Rank has its privileges, and he seems to know it.