Stoneware and Pillow, these are two words that I never imaged being used together when describing a utilitarian object. Even though it may sound uncomfortable to sleep on such a hard surface stoneware pillows were actually quite practical for the time. During the Sung Dynasty most Chinese stopped cutting their hair after their teens, which provided some padding on the stoneware pillows while sleeping. In addition to helping maintain hairdos, sleeping on a hard surface cut down on parasite infestations such as lice and distanced the sleeper from other bugs and vermin. The pillows were often decorated with motifs, if not three dimensional scenes that depicted the sleeper’s social life pursuits of the time. Tz'u-chou Stoneware Pillow from the Sung dynasty (960-1279) Photo Courtesy: Linda Ganstrom Art History Lectures
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2016
|
Proudly powered by Weebly