Minneapolis Institute of Art

Pillow

China

Date

11th-12th century

Medium

Cizhou ware Stoneware with painted decoration on white slip under a clear glaze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Painting directly on white slip was one of several decorative techniques practiced at Cizhou kilns. This pillow features a deer painted in its main register. The animal was an auspicious emblem connoting a wish for long life to Daoists and the hope for official title to Confucian scholars. A variety of auspicious animals and flowers were common decoration on painted Cizhou pillows. China, Asia

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