Indonesian Rice Pounding Vessel

Narrow at the waist and split near the foot, it stands like a tree that has been through things.

This rice pounding vessel comes from Java, Indonesia, in teak wood. On Java and neighboring islands, rice was long husked in tall wooden mortars with heavy pestles, a daily chore with a steady rhythm. This one has a broad rim, a body that pinches in toward the middle and then swells again at the foot. Long cracks and a knot hole break the surface, and an opening has worn through near the base. The wood has dried to a soft bleached blonde. It is 13.5 inches wide, 13.5 deep and 23 high.

Hourglass figure, working-class attitude.