Indian Marble Chapati Plate

A flat round slab with a sleepy stripe of veining and a crack to match.

This marble chapati plate is from Rajasthan, India, and dates to the early 20th century. Chapati is an unleavened flatbread rolled thin and cooked on a griddle, and flat stone plates and boards are among the surfaces traditionally used for rolling and serving it. Low disc with beveled, softly rounded edges and a flat top in muted tan and gray. Darker veins wander across the surface, and one fine crack crosses it. Tiny feet or a stepped base hold it just above the ground. It is 1.5 inches high and 8.25 in diameter.

Modest as a coaster, patient as a mountain.