Lot 824. A Northern white ware figural pillow, China, 10th century;  6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm.) wide. Estimate $12,000 - $18,000. Price Realized $149,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The support in the form of a recumbent lion with crisply modeled face, the sides of the mouth and the nostrils pierced, the pillow platform on its back of shaped oval form, all covered in a clear glaze of slightly grey-blue color, the unglazed base exposing the fine white ware.

Provenance: Christie's New York, 5 June 1986, lot 152.
The Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York

Note: Compare the similar pillow, also with lion support, in the Balinyouqi Museum, illustrated by Zhang Bai, Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, vol. 4, Beijing, 2008, no. 66.

Christie's. THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT HATFIELD ELLSWORTH PART IV - CHINESE WORKS OF ART: METALWORK, SCULPTURE AND EARLY CERAMICS, 20 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza.