A GREEN-GLAZED CIZHOU 'PEONY' PILLOW, SONG TO JIN DYNASTY China, 960-1234. Covered with a bright green glaze over a white-slipped ground. The top with a sgraffiato decoration of a large peony cut-out in a darker-washed ground. The sides with molded decorations of two mandarin ducks swimming in a pond, peonies and other flowers. Provenance: By repute Xian Provincial Museum, 14 October 2004, invoice not available. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above. Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in "Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond". Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch. Condition: Extensive wear and firing flaws, including glaze flakes and recesses, minor losses, touchup to glaze loss (ca. 3 x 1 cm), and one small old fill to one of the flanges. Weight: 1,617 g Dimensions: Length 27.3 cm The pair of mandarin ducks to the front symbolize a harmonious marriage, indicating this pillow was likely once a wedding gift. Literature comparison: Chinese Ceramic Pillows. The Mr. & Mrs. Yeung Wing Tak Gift, Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou 1993, no. 151. R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Vol. I, Londen 1994, p. 266-7, no. 489. Auction result comparison: Compare with a related Cizhou peony pillow, but with an amber glaze additional to the green glaze, at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Chinese Art on 30-31 May 2019, lot 404, sold for HKD 50,000. 宋至金時期綠釉磁州窯牡丹紋枕 中國，960-1234年。枕面刻牡丹牡丹紋，兩側刻蓮池鴨戯圖，牡丹和其他花卉紋，白地上覆蓋綠釉。 來源：據說來自西安博物院，2004年10月14日。 Dr. Koos de Jong收藏，購於上述收藏（發票遺失）。Dr. de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家， 幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。 圖片：Dr. Koos de Jong 與Ingeborg de Roode (照片來自於Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam) 品相：廣汎磨損和燒制缺陷，包括釉料剝落和凹陷，輕微缺損失，釉料小修（約3 x 1厘米），以及一個小的舊填料填充到其中一個凸緣上。 重量：1,617 克 尺寸：長 27.3 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一件相似刻牡丹紋綠釉枕見香港蘇富比Chinese Art 拍場2019年5月30-31 日lot 404, 售價HKD 50,000.