Rectangular Celadon Pillow with Openwork Auspicious-character and Inlaid Circle Design

Goryeo Period (14th Century)

This rectangular ceramic pillow is decorated throughout with openwork piercing. The upper surface — the section on which the head rests — features four-petaled floral motifs (sahwa) set within an interlocking shippo (seven-treasure) lattice, arranged in bilateral symmetry and rendered in openwork. White inlay outlines the patterned surface above, lending the design crisp definition. A band of circular motifs executed in white inlay encircles each corner, and the side panels are each carved in relief with four-petaled floral forms radiating from a central roundel. The glaze is a thin, pale grayish-blue, applied in a fine and even coat. Pillows of this openwork type were intended for use during summer, allowing air to circulate beneath the head, and the geometric interlocking pattern of the four-petaled shippo design is admirably suited to the function of the object. This motif also appears in the decoration of celadon incense burners of the period. The piece is presumed to have been produced at celadon kilns in Gangjin or Buan around the thirteenth century.