A CIZHOU-TYPE AMBER AND GREEN GLAZED POTTERY PILLOW Northern Song Dynasty Of kidney bean form, deeply moulded around the sides with a continuous frieze of scrolling foliage, covered in a rich amber glaze, the upper surface decorated with a central panel enclosing a combed and wave pattern design, covered in an even green glaze, the lower body similarly glazed, the unglazed base with an inscription. 27.2cm (10 3/4in) long. Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 北宋 磁州窯褐綠釉枕 Published and Illustrated: M. White, Living at the Whites' House: Ceramics from the Mary and Peter White Collection, vol.4, n.p, 2023, p.158 Provenance: A private collection of early Chinese ceramics, circa 1970-1990 (collector's notes) Acquired from Robert McPherson Antiques, London, on 23 March 2019 (collector's notes) Ceramic pillows of the Cizhou kilns in southern Hebei province were widely used domestically with some examples including inscriptions indicating their use as gifts for newly-married couples and as congratulatory objects. This contradicts a previous supposition that they were made only for burial. See a green and amber glazed pillow, Jin Dynasty, moulded on the sides with flowers and birds, in the Tokyo National Museum, collection no. TG-596; and another of similar form in the collection of the Nanyue King Museum, Guangzhou. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing