Chinese Rough-Hewn Trough

Ribbed like corduroy, and fitted with a wooden lid for good measure.

This rough-hewn trough comes from Shandong Province, China, and dates to the early 17th century. It is stone. Chinese troughs like this were usually carved from a single block for water or animal feed, with a half-round shape that sat against a wall. The outer face is worked in dense vertical ribs of chisel marks, and the inner walls carry a finer diagonal hatch. A dark half-round wooden top fits inside the rim and turns the basin into a low table. It is 40 inches wide and 18.5 high.

Put a lid on it, and the trough becomes furniture.