Chinese Stool | Side Table

Charcoal stone swirled with gray, polished like the surface of a rainy lake.

This stool or side table comes from Guizhou Province, China, and is stone. Natural stone seats have a long history in Chinese gardens and courtyards, where they stay cool in summer and hold up to any weather. This one is a rounded, oval block with gently bowed sides that taper in toward the base. The dark gray-green stone is laced with pale, wavy streaks that run across the flat top like wind on water. The whole piece has been polished to a soft gleam. It is 17.5 inches long, 12.5 deep and 13 high.

Low maintenance, in the most literal sense.