Lot 2946. A rare Cizhou painted tiger-form pillow, Jin dynasty (1115-1234); 15 1/8 in. (38.5 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 200,000. Price realised HKD 187,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.

The kidney-form pillow is modelled as a recumbent tiger with an alert expression on its face, its head lowered and resting on the front paws. Its hind legs are tucked under it with its tail resting along the side of its body. The tiger’s body is freely painted with dark brown details on a light coffee brown and cream ground. The upper panel is decorated with two insects in flight before a single long-tailed bird perched on a finely marbled rocky promontory, box.

The present lot belongs to a family of Cizhou pillows in the form of recumbent tigers, variously decorated with birds, flowers, and animals. Animal-form pillows were believed to promote the birth of sons and protect against evil, which is discussed by T. Mikami in Chinese Ceramic Pillows from Yeung Wing Tak Collection, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1984, p. 18.  

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 28 November 2018