Lot 706. A sancai-glazed squared 'peony' pillow, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234). Length 14 in., 35.6 cm. Estimate 8,000 — 12,000 USD. Lot Sold 6,875 USD. © Sotheby's.

of gently arced rectangular form, the slightly sloping and concave top incised with a panel of two luxuriant peony flowers in pale-green and ocher-yellow, borne on undulating stems issuing twisting leaves and curling tendrils on a creamy-white ground, enclosed within ruyi-form brackets and a double-line border, all reserved on the bright green ground continuing on the sides and falling short of the unglazed base, revealing the buff-colored body.

Provenance: Collection of Mrs. Potter Palmer (1849-1918) and thence by descent.
Gifted to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago by the Palmer family in 1951 (acc. no. 1951.182).