Bean-shaped pillow with lotus
Place of OriginHenan province or Hebei province, China
Dateapprox. 1100-1234
DynastyNorthern Song period (960-1127) or Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
MaterialsHigh fired ceramic with incised decoration on a white-slip ground and green and yellow glazes
DimensionsH. 4 in x W. 11 7/8 in x D. 8 5/8 in, H. 10.1 cm x W. 30.2 cm x D. 21.9 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB60P213
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsCeramics
On View
Not on viewThe lotus motif on the center of this piece is framed by lines and is adorned with a flower over arrowroot and lotus leaves. Its decorative manner echoes the Henan tradition of making three-color glazes. Described in a report on the Yuxian site, it involved first coating the work with slip, then incising the vessel with decorative patterns, and finally glazing the surface (WW 1964.8: 34-5). Bean-shaped pillows have emerged mostly from sites found in Hebei-Henan dating to the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. They were decorated in brownish sgraffito, with overglaze painting in black or underglaze painting in brown. All are set against a whitish ground; only three-color glazed works employ a green ground.
