Rectangular Pillow
On View In:
Gallery 204
Artist:   Wang Family Workshop  
Title:   Rectangular Pillow  
Date:   late 13th-early 14th century  
Medium:   Tz'u-chou ware Stoneware with iron-brown painted décor on a white slip under transparent glaze  
Dimensions:   6 1/8 x 16 1/4 x 6 3/4 in. (15.56 x 41.28 x 17.15 cm)  
Credit Line:   Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton  
Location:   Gallery 204  

The Taoist scene depicted on this headrest suggests a ritual performed in honor of Chang-e, the Goddess of the Moon. A well-attired woman is burning incense at a table in a garden. Two tall pines, a tai-hu garden rock, bamboo, and a pavilion complete the scene. The front panel encloses a camellia branch with two blossoms, and the back displays a fantastic bird amidst peonies. Other auspicious flowers (a lotus and peony) adorn the side panels. Dense, leafy scrollwork fills the corners of each register. During the Chin and Yuan dynasties (10th-14th centuries), the rectangular pillow shape was often used for pictorial representations reminiscent of paintings on silk, paper, or in illustrated books. Popular subjects included narratives from literature, history, theatre, and as the case is here, Taoist beliefs. The bottom of this pillow bears a three-character seal mark of the Wang family, a family workshop of Tz'u-chou potters famous for their pillows.

Artist/Creator(s)     
Name:   Wang Family Workshop  
Nationality:   Chinese  
 

Object Description  
  
Inscriptions:   Stamp light untranslated stamp, impressed into clay, on bottom  
Classification:   Ceramics  
Physical Description:   white with painted brown design with flowers on front and sides, bird and flowers on back and outdoor scene with 2 figures on top  
Creation Place:   Asia, China, , ,  
Accession #:   98.219  
Owner:   The Minneapolis Institute of Arts