Gurage Wood House Post

Straight as a rule, and nearly ten feet of it.

This house post was made by the Gurage of Ethiopia, East Africa, in wood in the mid 18th century. Posts of this height commonly bear the roof of a traditional house. Almost perfectly straight, it narrows gently toward a blunt, slanted tip. Grain and age have given the dark, dry surface a faint lengthwise ridging. It carries no decoration, and needs none. A small square plate of black metal holds it upright.

About 123 inches tall, a little over ten feet. Treat it as architecture, not a coat rack.