The earliest prototype of a stone lantern was a lamp that was lit when offering to the Buddha in ancient China, that is, the form of offering a lamp. It expresses the meaning of “vertical light”. Stone lanterns are often used as decorations in gardens and courtyards. Stone lanterns are also a kind of art. Various granite stones are used to create visible and touchable stone sculptures with a certain space.
Black Stone lanterns were used in Japanese gardens and courtyards since the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the late 16th century. At that time, because of the tea ceremony exhibition, stone lanterns were often used as an open-air decoration in the tea room and widely used in courtyard decoration.
On the earliest stone lanterns in black color, there are several basic components:
1. Baoding: Japanese called Baozhu (quasi Baozhu), an onion-like shape on the top of a stone lantern.
2. Building roof: Japanese called “li”, the roof part of the stone lantern lamp house. Hexagons and quadrilaterals are the mainstream, but there are also round “snow-seeing shapes”. The line of the polygon extends from the lower part of the orb, and the end is protruding, which is called “fern hand”.
3. Lamphouse: Called “fire bag” in Japanese, the main body of stone lanterns, some decorative stone lantern lamphouses never ignite.
4. Building body: It is called “Zhongtai” in Japanese. The bottom part of the stone lantern lamp room is usually decorated with lotus seats.
5. Pole: The long pillar at the bottom of the stone lantern lamp. Snow see type stone lantern will omit this part. Generally cylindrical, but also four-sided, six-sided, and octahedral. There may be nodular ornaments, as well as figures and animals.
6. Foundation: The bottom part of the stone lantern. Hexagons and circles are the mainstream, and there is also a beast shape as the base.
With the development of time, stone lanterns have also evolved various styles. Generally divided into: pedestal stone lanterns, buried stone lanterns, movable stone lanterns, snow saw stone lanterns, emblem stone lanterns, wild stone lanterns and so on.
