White-Glazed Boy-Shaped Porcelain Pillow
The white-glazed boy-shaped porcelain pillow was produced by the Ding Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty. One of the five most famous kilns in ancient China, the Ding Kiln was celebrated for white porcelain.
Porcelain pillows emerged in the Sui Dynasty (581-618), and prevailed in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. The ancients believed that porcelain pillows could refresh the body and benefit the eyes.
This porcelain pillow features a stout body coated with white glaze and emitting a yellowish ivory luster. It features a lying boy with his back functioning as the pillow surface.
The boy wears a plain vest and a robe embroidered with round flower patterns. He holds an embroidered ball in his right hand, with his arms crossed under his head, and his feet lifting upward. The boy looks innocent, cute, and lifelike. The bed beneath him is engraved with dragon and cloud patterns. The shape, decorative patterns, and lustrous glaze of the pillow all reflect the superb white porcelain firing techniques of the Ding Kiln during the Song Dynasty.
The Palace Museum in Taipei also houses a white-glazed boy-shaped porcelain pillow produced by the Ding Kiln. The bottom of the pillow is engraved with a poem by Emperor Qianlong to exhort himself. The two porcelain pillows are similar in shape, but the clothing patterns are different.
A representative masterpiece in the history of Chinese ceramics, this boy-shaped porcelain pillow is a precious artifact to study the culture, lifestyles, and ceramic art of the Song Dynasty.
白釉孩儿枕
白釉孩儿枕是北宋年间定窑烧制的瓷枕。定窑是中国五大名窑之一，以烧制白瓷闻名。瓷枕最早出现于隋代，盛行于唐、宋、元。古人使用瓷枕，以其能爽身明目、益睛怡神。
这件孩儿枕胎体厚重，通体施白釉，微泛牙黄。孩童俯卧在床榻上，背部作为枕面。他身着素面坎肩、团花纹长袍，双手环抱垫起头部，右手持绣球，双足交叉上翘，天真可爱，生动传神。身下的床榻刻有螭龙垂云纹。造型、纹饰和温润的釉色，均体现出宋代定窑白瓷烧造的高超水平。台北故宫博物院也藏有一件定窑白釉孩儿枕，底部刻有乾隆皇帝警醒自我的御制诗。两件瓷枕造型相近，衣着纹饰明显不同。
这件孩儿枕是中国陶瓷史上的经典之作，是研究宋代文化风俗和陶瓷艺术的珍贵实物。
