AN EXTREMELY RARE DINGYAO 'BOY' PILLOW NORTHERN SONG – JIN DYNASTY |

well modelled as a cherubic boy reclining on his left and resting his head on a pillow, all supported on a rectangular plinth bordered with a cusped apron below cartouches of scrollwork, the figure depicted clad in voluminous robes and nestling a stem surmounted by a large furled lobed panel superbly carved in low relief with floral motifs reserved against a neatly incised ground of feathery scrollwork, all bordered with a band of lush foliage, covered overall with a soft transparent glaze

The pillow is in good overall condition with expected light surface wear and nicks to the fragile extremities, including an approx. 1.8 cm chip to the lobed panel with an associated approx. 0.9 cm hairline crack, and shallow chips to the edges of the plinth, of which the legs are possibly ground, one with three associated short hairlines, the longest measuring 1.5 cm. There are also firing imperfections, including firing cracks to the base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Exquisitely modelled in the form of a reclining boy clutching the stem of a lotus leaf with both hands, this charming piece belongs to a very rare and highly sophisticated group of figural headrests. Covered in a soft ivory-tinged glaze, this pillow is particularly notable for the sensitive modelling of the boy’s reclining pose, the detailed rendering of his clothing, and the luxurious floret design on the headrest, which simulates brocaded textile. Ceramic pillows were first manufactured in the Tang dynasty and became popular luxurious items in the Song period. They not only provided support while sleeping but were considered as bridges between the conscious and unconscious self. They were fashioned from materials that were believed to have health properties, and their designs were carefully chosen as harbingers of happiness and good fortune. The late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) writer Gao Lian in his Cunshen bajian [Eight discourses on the art of living], published in 1591, tells the story of immortal Yao, who had ‘pure and elegant dreams’ after sleeping on a pile of rolled-up paper scrolls.

The cooling properties of ceramic made it a particularly suitable material for the manufacture of pillows. The Northern Song dynasty poet Zhang Lei in his Thanks to Master Huang for the Green Porcelain Pillow, wrote: ‘Porcelain made by the Gong people is strong and blue; an old friend gave it to me to beat the heat; it cools down the room like a breeze; keeping my head cool while I sleep; This amazing clay item keeps one’s head cool and hair cold’.

Pillows in the form of boys were given as wedding gifts and represented the wish for the continuation of the family line and the birth of male offspring. The scholar Sun Simiao (581-682) in his Beiji qianjin yaofang [Prescriptions worth a thousand, for every emergency], expresses the widespread belief that the gender of foetuses could be influenced by the expectant mother through what she saw and ate, her emotions as well as her dreams. These figurative pillows were thus believed to both aid in the onset of pregnancy and positively influence mothers’ dreams (Ann Barrott Wicks, Children in Chinese Art, Honolulu, 2002, p. 12).

Three Dingyao pillows in the form of reclining boys holding a lotus leaf are known: the first in the Avery Brundage collection, now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, is illustrated in Li He, Chinese Ceramics. The New Standard Guide, San Francisco, 1996, pl. 218; the second in the Meiyintang collection is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, pl. 1428; and the third from the Musée Royaoux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels, was sold in our New York rooms, 23rd September 1995, lot 398.

Pillows modelled in the form of boys holding a lotus leaf were made at various kilns in both northern and southern China; a Cizhou pillow of this form in the Museum of the Western Han Dynasty Mausoleum of the Nan Yue King, Guangzhou, is illustrated in Cizhou yaoci zhen [Cizhou ceramic pillows], Beijing, 2000, p. 270; another was sold in our New York rooms, 15th March 2017, lot 618; a Yaozhou example in the Meiyintang collection, is illustrated op.cit., pl. 1479; another from the Jaehne collection, in the Newark Museum, New Jersey, was included in the exhibition Chinese Art in the Newark Museum, China Institute of America, New York, 1980, pp. 10 and 33; and two qingbai pillows are illustrated in Rose Kerr, Song Through 21st Century Eyes, Hong Kong, 2009, pls 2-15 and 2-16.