The pillow is modelled with a foliate headrest carved and incised to the top with scrolling peonies, above a recumbent lion with the mouth open and the tail detailed with stylised scrolls. 

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 12 November 2003, lot 130.

A Rare Ding Ware Lion Pillow
Rosemary Scott, Senior International Academic Consultant

The current pillow is a rare example of a Ding ware pillow supported by the figure of a lion. While ceramic pillows surprise those in the West, who are accustomed to soft pillows, the use of ceramic pillows has a very long history in China and were regarded as eminently practical. In his poem Thanks to Master Huang for the Green Porcelain Pillow, the Northern Song poet Zhang Lei (張耒 1054-1114) from Chuzhou in modern Jiangsu province wrote: ‘The pillow made by Gong is green and sturdy; an old friend gave it to me to combat the heat; it cools down with the breeze in the room; so that my head is cool while I sleep’.

The form of the lion supporting the current pillow – particularly the head - clearly has its origins in Tang dynasty white Xing ware figures of lions. These are guardian lions, depicted sejant – that is seated on their haunches with forelegs straight and both forepaws on the ground in front. They often are shown with their mouths open to display ferocious teeth, in keeping with their role as guardians. Two such lions were excavated in 1978 from a Tang dynasty tomb at Zhongyangquan village, Xingtai city, Hebei province (illustrated in Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China – 3 – Hebei, Beijing, no. 62). In China lion-shaped ceramic pillows were particularly popular during the Song-Jin period. A Song dynasty white-glazed pillow in the form of a lion, with the back of the lion providing the head rest, is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 32, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 190, no. 172), while a Cizhou white-slipped lion-shaped pillow, with similarly scrolling tail to that on the current pillow, and with the back of the lion providing the head rest, is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum (illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu – 12 – Song, Tokyo, 1977, p. 233, fig. 96). Lions were always regarded as auspicious and noble creatures, often depicted as guardians, and symbolising both harmony and protection against evil spirits, along with blessings and high rank. The character for lion in Chinese 獅 shi is a homophone for 世 shi meaning generations and can also suggest 師 shi meaning tutor and 思 si meaning thoughts. In the case of this pillow the intention is almost certainly to suggest a wish for future generations who will enjoy high rank. A similar wish for male heirs is implied by the well-known Ding ware pillows with boy babies, but lion pillows incorporate the additional element of protection.

Pillows in the shape of animals were already established amongst Chinese ceramics wares by the 9th century. In the 舊唐書 Jiu Tangshu, compiled by Liu Xu 劉昫 (888–947) and Zhang Zhaoyuan ??? (who took his jinshi degree in 877), it is noted that in the early 8th century pillows in the form of leopards were used in order to ward off evil spirits, while pillows in the form of crouching bears were believed to encourage fertility (see Xin Tangshu, juan 37, p. 1377). A Tang dynasty Changsha pillow in the form of a rhinoceros is in the collection of the Ji’nan City Museum, Shandong (illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan Taoci juan, Taipei, 1993, p. 236, no. 206). A 9th-10th century brown lion or tiger-shaped pillow was excavated from the Tang dynasty port of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province; a 10th century Yue celadon tiger-shaped pillow was excavated in 1977 from Shangpu in Zhejiang province; and a Song dynasty white-glazed tiger-shaped pillow was excavated in 1953 at Hanyang in Hubei province (illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan, Taoci juan, op. cit., p. 310, pl. 475). An 11th century Song or Liao white-glazed tiger or lion pillow was excavated in Bayan’erdeng township, Balin right Banner (illustrated in Gilded Splendor – Treasures of China’s Liao Empire (907-1125), New York, 2006, pp. 346-7, no. 111). A small sancai Liao dynasty lion pillow from the Bishop W.C. White and Harris collections was sold by Christie’s New York 16 March 2017, lot 878.

A sancai-glazed pottery 'Lion' pillow, Liao dynasty (AD 907-1125), from the Bishop W.C. White and Harris collections; 8 in. (20.3 cm.) wide. Sold for USD 4,375 at Christie’s New York 16 March 2017, lot 878. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017.

Cf. my post: A sancai-glazed pottery 'Lion' pillow, Liao dynasty (AD 907-1125)

There is a relationship between the current pillow and a small group of Ding ware pillows in the form of little boys. The National Palace Museum, Taipei has two of these boy pillows (illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ting Ware White Porcelain, Taipei, 1987, nos. 15 and 16), and the Palace Museum, Beijing has a similar pillow also depicting a little boy lying on his stomach with one foot crossed over the other and his head resting on both arms (illustrated in Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), op. cit., pp. 46-7, no. 39). These three pillows are of almost identical shape. The platform base on which the lion in the lower section of the current pillow is depicted, strongly resembles the couch-like platforms which are seen on pillows with reclining boy children in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and the National Palace Museum, Taipei – albeit that the lion’s platform flares towards the foot of the pillow. The lion’s platform and the couch-like platforms on which the children lie each has similar recessed panels around the sides. The same feature can be seen on the remaining fragment of another Ding pillow excavated in 1973 at Beizhen village, Quyangxian, Hebei province (illustrated in Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China – 3 – Hebei, Beijing, no. 143). The base of this pillow, which has lost its upper section, is modelled as a reclining woman, and the couch-like platform on which she lies also has, somewhat simplified, recessed panels around the sides. It is also interesting to note that the figure of the woman is enveloped in scrolls, which are very similar to those which embellish the lion’s tail on the current pillow.