Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pillow

China

Date

late 11th–early 12th century

Medium

Cizhou ware Stoneware with black and white slips and sgraffito decoration under transparent glaze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Leaf-shaped pillows were an innovation of the Cizhou kilns and those with sgraffito decoration on black slip over white slip like this one were popular from the late eleventh through the twelfth century. This handsome example displays a boldly incised peony spray symbolizing wealth, spring, and feminine beauty. The peony was a common motif during this period and one that archaeologists have shown was manufactured largely at northern kilns in the Guantai area, near the former Cizhou in southern Hebei Province. Cizhou ware developed entirely as a popular, inexpensive stoneware tradition for everyday use. The rough clay bodies were given a smooth white surface by the application of a white slip upon which the potters explored a great variety of decorative techniques China, Asia

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