Chinese Porcelain Pillow

Chinese ceramic pillows originate from the Tang dynasty (618-906AD) with a vast array of shapes and designs available. Most ceramic pillows were box shaped, whilst others were elaborately designed in the form of animals, flowers or fans. This pillow from the Qing dynasty, has lotus scrolls painted across the main areas, with an underglaze of cobalt blue, whilst the ends are decorated with hawthorn scrolls, painted in famille rose enamels.

Upper class and royalty used porcelain pillows, placing a cloth on the top of the porcelain for comfort, whilst lower classes used a wooden block. Porcelain pillow production reached the zenith during the Song Dynasty period and was a symbol of elegance and class.

As part of the production process air holes were built into the pillow to prevent it from exploding in the kiln, however, these holes were often made deliberately large, creating a safe storage space for jewellery, money and other valuables. The pillow could be filled with embers for warmth during cold winters or flowers, leaves or herbs to produce a sweet smell; people believed that if you slept on a scented pillow you would have sweet dreams.

It was popular belief that ceramic pillows were good for your eyes; in his poem Thanks to Master Huang for the Green Porcelain Pillow, poet Zhang Lei of the Northern Song dynasty wrote: ‘Pillow made by Gong 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’. The poem not only highlights the efficiency of ceramic pillows as cooling aids, but also reflects how appreciated they were by members of the Song literati during the heat of the summer.