Leaf-shaped pillow incised with flower and bird pattern produced by Cizhou Kiln in the Song Dynasty

In the Zhao-Song Dynasty period, with the prosperity of economy, culture and art developed unprecedentedly, which resulted in the “Civil Culture”. There were many folk artisans with certain culture level in this period, which enriched the social culture. Particularly in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the emperor promoted the development of calligraphy and painting art. In this way, the emperor became the leader in the culture trend, which enhanced the further development of the social culture. CIzhou Kiln broke the limits of single-color glaze, which was popular in the five famous kilns (Ru, Guan, Jun, Ge and Ding), applied more than 10 decorative techniques and opened a new age for porcelain decoration. Cizhou Kiln produced numerous porcelains to meet the demand of the public. It applied the color paste and combined the traditional drawing, calligraphy and ceramic technique together to create new art style and promote the development of aesthetics of ancient ceramics toward a new stage. The porcelains in Cizhou Kiln preserve the ancient drawing, calligraphy and material objects reflecting the folk custom, which form the simple, free, easy and lively art style and reflect the unique features of folk life. Cizhou Kiln later became the famous kiln throughout the history. The special burning techniques had an important effect on the development of porcelain industries in northern China. In the history, there was a saying “Jingde is famous in the south while Pengcheng is unique in the north”.
The leaf-shaped pillow is the classical style in Cizhou Kiln of Northern Song Dynasty. The similar white glazed leaf-shaped pillow with incised pattern was unearthed in the ancient city of Julu, Hebei Province. The pillow is marked by Chongning Year 2(1103), which can serve as the basis for the production time of the pillow. The pillow, which is covered with white color paste, has a tight molding bed. There is a circle pattern of five petals incised on the surface. The part within the circle is decorated by peony patterns and double-hooked curly grass patterns engraved on the pearl patterns. In the center of the pillow, there is the figure of Chinese flowering crabapple. Within the figure, the wild goose holding the embroidered ball and the cloud patterns are engraved, which represent the luckiness. The cutting is freely flowing, especially the figure of wild goose that gives us a naive and childish sense, which is difficult to simulate. The similar decorations of wild goose pattern and printing five-petal pattern are seen in the Chinese flowering crabapple shaped pillow incised with crane pattern on the white surface (Picture 2) donated by Yang Yongde and his wife. Besides, the decorations of wild goose pattern and double-hooked curly grass patterns engraved on the pearl patterns of the Chinese flowering crabapple shaped pillow incised with flower incised on the pearl pattern (Picture 3), which is also donated by Yang Yongde and his wife, are similar to this pillow. The style of this kind of porcelain has been proved by the unearthed specimen. The leaf-shaped pillow with comb pattern incised on the white surface(Picture 4)unearthed at Guantai Kiln in 1987 and the leaf-shaped pillow with comb pattern and peony pattern incised on the white surface (Picture 5) unearthed in Guantai Town of Ci County are similar with this pillow in shaping technique, clay for molding bed and glaze. In this way, the pillow may be produced in Ci County of Northern Song Dynasty.

Picture 1 White glazed leaf-shaped pillow with incised pattern 
The second year of Chongning (1103) Unearthed in the ancient city of Julu, Hebei Province

Picture 2 Chinese small flower crabapple-shaped pillow incised with crane pattern on the white surface donated by the married couple Yang Yongde and his wife Collected by Guangzhou Museum of the Nanyue King’s Mausoleum

Picture 3 Chinese small flower crabapple-shaped pillow incised with flower incised on the pearl pattern donated by the married couple Yang Yongde and his wife Collected by Guangzhou Museum of the Nanyue King’s Mausoleum

Picture 4 The leaf-shaped pillow with comb pattern incised on the white surface unearthed at Guantai Kiln in 1987 Collected by Ci County Museum, Hebei Province

Picture 5 The leaf-shaped pillow with comb pattern and peony pattern incised on the white surface unearthed in Guantai Town of Ci County The collection of Handan Museum, Hebei