Indian Carved Pillar with "Tree of Life" Motif: Cross Top Cantilevered Capitol and Stone Base

Faded green paint, a stone foot, and a bracket covered in leaves.

Made in Gujarat, India, in the late 19th or early 20th century, this carved pillar with a Tree of Life motif is carved wood and stone. Painted woodwork was a common feature of the region's traditional houses, and color often survives in the recesses. Here pale green clings to the fluted shaft and the foliate panel beneath a square lattice. An orange-brown bracket, dense with carved leaf, angles up to a cross top with a cantilevered capital. The stepped stone base is carved and worn soft. It reaches 100.5 inches high and 30 deep.

The paint has mostly left. The pillar stayed.