Not to mention others, ceramic pillows were most prosperous in the Tang, Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties.
The shapes, patterns, decorations and colors are rich and colorful.
Exquisite workmanship and brilliant glaze color.
This occupies an important position in the history of Chinese ceramics, so it is necessary to imitate it. Just imitating the fine porcelain pillows from these periods is enough to keep Chen Wenzhe busy for half a month.
For example, the ceramic pillows from the Tang and Song Dynasties collected by the Nanhe Museum have unique shapes, fine workmanship, exquisite patterns, and pure glaze colors.
Although the kiln mouth is different, it can still be regarded as a masterpiece from the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Especially in the early Tang Dynasty when porcelain pillows appeared, the gorgeous and exquisite Tang porcelain pillows are eye-catching.
The Tang Dynasty was a period of cultural prosperity in Chinese history, with a prosperous country and a stable society.
The continuous integration and evolving multiculturalism of the Tang Dynasty promoted the enrichment and diversification of ceramic production.
The porcelain pillows of this period basically followed the shape of the Sui Dynasty, and were smaller and more exquisite.
In the firing process, three colors, painted colors, twisted tires, and single-color green-yellow glaze and black glaze are used as decoration.
Three-color glaze refers to the use of several basic glaze colors such as yellow, green, white, or yellow, green, blue, and black on the same object at the same time. After being transformed in the kiln, it becomes Tang Sancai with colorful glaze colors.
The process of twisting the tire is to mix the two-color pottery clay into a carcass and apply a transparent glaze to fully express the stretched and smooth charm of the twisting tire.
The shapes are box-shaped pillows and animal-shaped pillows. The decorations are mainly flower and bird patterns and geometric patterns. Pearl ground carvings and scratches are the main varieties of porcelain pillows.
The kilns include Gongxian Kiln, Mixian Kiln, Dengfeng Kiln in Nanhe, Shachang Kiln in Nanhu, and Shouzhou Kiln in Hui'an as production bases.
One of the representative works is the three-color pictographic vein pillow. This porcelain pillow is 15 cm long, 9.3 cm wide and 8 cm high.
The pillow surface is oval, with an elephant standing on a rectangular flat seat as the pillow base.
The elephant's proboscis droops and rests on the flat surface.
The whole body is glazed in brown, green, yellow and other colors, and the bottom is unglazed.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the production of porcelain pillows basically followed the shape of porcelain pillows from the Sui Dynasty. They were small in size, regular in shape, and flat in pillow surface, making them unsuitable for daily bedding.
It is most likely that it was used by doctors to place it under the patient's wrist to check the pulse, and it is also easy to carry when going to the doctor.
The production process of porcelain pillows in this period was similar to the firing process of Tang Sancai.
Of course, porcelain and pottery are different, and the biggest difference is the firing temperature.
However, the firing of low-temperature glaze products, pottery and porcelain are still very similar.
In other words, porcelain from the Sui and Tang Dynasties was easier to fire.
Of course, completely imitating ancient craftsmanship is another matter. After all, ancient raw mineral materials are hard to find.
In addition to the three-color porcelain pillows of the Tang Dynasty, the most unique craft of porcelain pillows in the Tang Dynasty is the twisted-body porcelain pillow.
A Tang Dynasty twisted-body porcelain pillow handed down from ancient times is relatively small, with a height of only 6 cm, a width of 12.5 cm, and a length of 10 cm.
The whole body is rectangular, with slightly warped ends, a concave center, sharp edges and corners, not protruding eaves, and the whole body is covered with yellow or brown glaze.
This pillow has a regular shape, bright colors, exquisite patterns, and textures like flowing clouds and flowing water. It is full of artistic appeal that is both real and illusory, and is pleasing to the eye.
In the Tang Dynasty, there was also a kind of carved Ruyi head pulse pillow.
The pillow is 17 cm long, 10 cm wide and 9.5 cm high.
It is in the shape of a Ruyi head, the whole body is covered with green glaze, and the pillow surface is straight.
The inner circumference of the pillow surface and the upper part of the pillow are engraved with sparse tangled branch patterns, and there is a circular ventilation hole in the middle of the lower end of the pillow.
The pillow has a unique shape and crystal-clear glaze. It is a representative work of Yue kiln.
The craftsmanship of porcelain pillows in the Tang Dynasty is very gorgeous. Moreover, they are not big in size. For example, the Ruyi head. Why is it called a pulse pillow?
It's because this pillow is only 17 centimeters, less than a bundle long. It's definitely impossible to use it as a pillow.
By the Song Dynasty, there were even more changes.
Therefore, Song porcelain pillows are the most varied and colorful!
Because the Song and Jin dynasties were the prosperous periods for the development of porcelain pillows, the largest number of porcelain pillows were unearthed during this period.
Many kilns, such as Ding Kiln, Cizhou Kiln, Yaozhou Kiln, Huangye Kiln, Ru Kiln, Dengfeng Kiln, Gongxian Kiln, Jizhou Kiln, Jingzhen Kiln, etc., produce porcelain pillows.
The famous folk kiln system in the north is the Cizhou kiln. The kiln is located in Ci County, Beihe, hence the name.
Cizhou kiln, the porcelain pillow that best represents the artistic characteristics of Cizhou kiln.
After the Northern Song Dynasty, the shape of porcelain pillows increased with changes in shape.
The largest one is about fifty or sixty centimeters, and its function has evolved from the initial ornamental and playful aspects to practicality.
Porcelain pillows vary in shape, including rectangular pillows, fan-shaped pillows, octagonal pillows, waist-round pillows, ingot-shaped pillows, tiger-shaped pillows, cat-shaped pillows, Ruyi head-shaped pillows, lying baby-shaped pillows, etc.
The real artistic charm of porcelain pillows lies in decoration.
The surface of the porcelain pillow is painted with various patterns such as figures, landscapes, animals, flowers and birds, poems, fish and insects.
These patterns give porcelain pillows both a rich interest in life and rich cultural connotations.
The changeable shapes and various patterns complement each other, making it the top grade among Cizhou kiln products.
There are two firing methods for porcelain pillows, one is firing at high temperature in one go.
The specific method is to apply a layer of cosmetic soil after the base is dry.
Then use brushes, bamboo sticks and other tools to decorate the pattern using methods such as drawing, writing, carving, ticking, and scratching.
Some even have kiln stamps embossed on the bottom, and finally a transparent glaze is applied and fired in the kiln at high temperatures.
The other is to use the method of firing twice at high and low temperatures.
The specific method is to use bamboo skewers and grates to carve patterns on the blank when it is half dry, and then put it into the kiln for high-temperature biscuit firing after drying;
On this basis, yellow glaze, green glaze and transparent glaze are applied, and then fired in the kiln for the second time. This is a low-temperature pillow.
At this time, the decorative techniques for making porcelain pillows still used black flowers on white ground, mold printing, three-color printing, printing patterns, carved patterns, carved patterns, etc. The decoration content was rich and the themes were various.
Pattern decorations include curly grass, water ripples, plum blossoms, and lotus patterns. Plum blossoms represent noble conduct, lotus symbolizes holiness, and curly grass and water ripples represent strong vitality.
The patterns are decorated with ancient allusions and mythological stories, such as "Journey to the West", "Chenqiao Mutiny" and "Li Kui's Negation of Jing";
There are children's themes, such as "flying kites", "fishing", "playing with ducks", etc.;
There are also those showing sports: "playing football" and "standing on your head immediately".
Some depict mountains, rivers, figures, birds and animals, and some combine characters with plants to express good luck, happiness and longevity.
The patterns of Cizhou kiln porcelain pillows are drawn from a wide range of materials and in various forms. They have strong national colors and life interests, giving people a beautiful enjoyment.
In addition, there is a peculiar product advertising phenomenon in the production of porcelain pillows, that is, a stamp is embossed on the bottom of the pillow.
At this time, the habit of leaving money had not yet been formed, so it could only be named after the producer at the kiln entrance.
For example, through these stamps, we can know that the kilns that fired porcelain pillows include "Zhang Jia", "Wang Jia", "Li Jia", "Zhao Jia", "Liu Jia", "Chang Jia", etc.