Chinese Ceramic Pillow History

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Chinese ceramic pillow history.

Japanese and chinese porcelain marks chinese pottery and porcelain chinese imari export porcelain chinese porcelain chinese famille rose famille verte and rose medallion porcelain and an active collector forum. Porcelain pillows were mass produced in china in their millions in the 1800s and exported to expat asian communities all over the world. Among all ancient chinese pillows the porcelain pillow was the most widely used. This essay analyses the social value and multiple functions of ceramic pillows in ming dynasty china in relation to a pillow in the v a collections.

Chinese ceramic pillows are certainly very different in form to their western equivalents. Email ask a question service. Over many chinese dynasties pillows were made from a wide range of materials including bamboo jade porcelain wood and bronze. In ancient china however ceramic pillows were commonly used as burial wares although archaeological discoveries and literary evidence suggest they were endowed with multiple functions.

The ancient chinese civilization used different materials such as stone wood bamboo bronze porcelain and jade decorated with pictures of humans animals and plants. Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of chinese art and ceramics globally. They believed that the materials of which the pillow was made could have health benefits for the person using it. Coming into being with the development of porcelain making crafts the porcelain pillow first appeared in the sui dynasty 581 618 flourished in the tang dynasty 618 907 and reached its heyday in the song dynasty 960 1279.

The first pottery was made during the palaeolithic era. This painting is from the qing dynasty and depicts an old chinese man holding a soft pillow ready to drift off to a pleasant and dreamy sleep. If i could buy one i d use it. Seemingly straightforward in function this type of object has been easily overlooked by art and design historians.

Ceramic pillows became the most popular. The use of the ceramic pillow first appeared in the sui dynasty between 581 and 618 while mass production appeared in the tang. While ceramic pillows were widely used in the song dynasty from the qing dynasty 1644 ad 1911ad they were used less. Chinese pillows were traditionally solid though sometimes used with a softer fabric over them.

Although breakable the hard material used to make them would last forever and the cool touch of porcelain would ve been refreshing in the hot muggy climates of southeast asia where many of these pillows ended up. Requiring extreme skill to produce the ceramic pillows from the tang 618 907 ad and song 960 1279 ad dynasties in particular are highly prized for.