CHINE, XIXÈME-DÉBUT DU XXÈME SIÈCLE

This deep green jade pillow has been expertly carved in the form of a plump, kneeling boy from an exceptionally large jade boulder. Boy-shaped pillows first appeared during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and were traditionally given as wedding gifts, symbolizing the wish for male offspring and the continuation of the family line. Such figurative pillows were believed not only to encourage conception but also to positively influence maternal dreams.
A closely related jadeite boy pillow from the collection of H. Whitaker is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue A Collection of Objects of Chinese Art, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1915, pl. XIII. A pair was sold at Christie’s New York, 21 September 2004, lot 118. Compare also a smaller green jade pillow in the form of a boy from the Heber R. Bishop Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 02.18.426.