The tiger pillow

From the Zhang family kilns

Ceramic pillows were among the common products of the Cizhou kilns, and when moulds were used it was mainly for them. Unusually for Chinese pottery, many carry a stamp or an inscription: a large group, mostly of the 12th and 13th centuries, is stamped with the name of the Zhang family workshop in Henan, and at least one tiger-shaped headrest carries that stamp. Other kilns made moulded shapes with a flat panel for the head, and tigers are common among them.

To verify: A dated tiger pillow: the Brooklyn Museum lists one with an inscription giving a date that probably corresponds to 1182 and a price of 31 copper coins, but we could not open its page to check

Why a tiger

Cizhou pillows often carry painted inscriptions, and on pillows these typically wish the sleeper good sleep. For the tiger shape there are two readings. The Brooklyn Museum’s label for its tiger pillow says that in Chinese lore the tiger frightens away harmful spirits. The encyclopedia account of the ware that we used says only that tigers were common, ‘presumably for male customers’.

To verify: The Brooklyn Museum’s own wording about the tiger and harmful spirits, which we saw only in a search summary

How we tell it

The old pillows are glazed clay and very hard. We draw the tiger and tell its story; we make no promise that a tiger, in clay or in metal, keeps bad dreams away.