Cloud-Collar Pillow with Waves (1000s–1100s): Art, History and Details

Cloud-Collar Pillow with Waves (1000s–1100s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This ceramic pillow in the form of a cloud—a design pattern variously referred to as ruyi, the shape of a head of an auspicious scepter—is a fine example of qingbai ware from Jiangxi province. It has a pure white body covered with a transparent, glassy glaze that carries a faint greenish tinge, thus giving it another name, yingqing, or "shadow blue." On the surface of the pillow is a carved and incised design of repeating wave patterns. The beauty of this piece lies in its elegance of form, simplicity of design, and delicacy of workmanship.

Object facts

• Title: Cloud-Collar Pillow with Waves
• Date: 1000s–1100s
• Culture: China, Jiangxi Province, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: glazed porcelain with incised and carved decoration
• Dimensions: Overall: 10 x 17.5 x 13.4 cm (3 15/16 x 6 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.)
• Collection: China - Song Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2003.88

A detail from the museum

While ceramic might not be your choice for a pillow, it actually kept the user cool as they slept.

Collection credit

Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.