Box-shaped Pillow with Floral Design (Sancai ware)
Datefirst half of the 8th century, Tang dynasty (618–906)
Mediumearthenware covered with white slip and sancai ("three-color") lead glazes
Dimensions4.8 x 10.5 x 8.9 cm (1 7/8 x 4 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Terms
Object number1954.50
DescriptionPillow with three-color lead glaze. Pottery with red and green floral pattern. M.F.A. no. 14.411. Note: see 1954.48 for more information.Label TextExpressively decorated lead-glazed ware was fully developed in the Shaanxi and Henan provinces during the reign of the notorious Empress Wu (r. 690–704 A.D.). The term sancai (“three-color”), which is often used for this lead-glazed ware, was coined when China’s East-West Longhai railway was being built in the early 20th century. It was then that funerary goods, including many press-molded horses, camels and figures in amber, green and white were excavated from tombs. Since lead glazes are poisonous, sancaiware was widely used as burial goods or as exotic wares for utilitarian purposes other than for holding food or drink. Scholars believe that ceramic pillows, such as this example, may have been used as a display stand or as an armrest by a Tang dynasty doctor when taking a patient’s pulse. Lead-glazed ware remained popular in China and was widely exported until the collapse of the Tang dynasty, a time when the elaborate burials of the ruling class came to an end. Sancai earthenware (and sometimes stoneware pre-fired about 1150ºC) were first covered with a white-clay slip. White areas were reserved by applying a clear lead glaze or by using a wax-resist technique. The colored lead glazes, brushed or dabbed on, were tinted with mineral oxides: iron for brownish-black, brown, amber and yellow, and copper for the “cucumber-rind” green. Introduced in the second half of the 7th century, cobalt was used to create dark blue, especially in Gongxian, Henan province. Sancai earthenware and stoneware goods were fired in oxidation in small, round, wood-burning mantouyao or “bun-kilns.” In spite of their low temperature firing (about 900–1000ºC), the lead glazes tended to run, especially on vertical surfaces.ProvenanceMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 112
Chinese
Wanli period (1573–1620) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127)
Chinese
9th or early 10th century, Tang dynasty (618–906) or Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Chinese
12th or early 13th century, Jin dynasty (1115–1234)
