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I have owned this about ten years and never really doubted its authenticity. The quality of the fakes coming out of China now makes me question every piece I have and take a closer look at all of them. This pillow has no real provenance. I bought it in the states from pictures with the option of return if I did not like it. It stands on end at 33cm tall. There are several famous examples of this form and decoration and two are illustrated in Mino's "Freedom of Clay and Brush" pages 106 and 107 (I was fortunate enough to see that exhibition in 1980). Because of the well published nature of similar pieces I am always skeptical about finding similar forms. The fakers typically need an example to work from and it seems like there are a lot of copies or fakes of well known objects. This one here is not in the best of condition but has no repairs or damage other than firing flaws. Any questions or opinions on it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Here are a few more pics.

Hi Brian, this one has good signs of being authentic. 1) staining of fissure 2) right design of pillow and peony 3) glaze peeling off from salt dam due to burial. Additional test can be carried out by putting a drop of water on the unglazed area to see if it releases a acidic smell. Apparently if an object has been buried for a long period it will release a gas trapped inside the pottery material when it comes in contact with water. The typical smell has a slight acidic scent . Also spot for subsurface calcification, which appears as cloudy spots under the glaze. Of course there is the expensive TLS test if all are inconclusive.

TSL test is Transport Layer Security protocol, it's an internet networks testing.

TL test is Thermoluminescence dating.

Sorry, wrong typing.

TLS test as Mr.Lee said is Transport Layer Security protocol.

I have some concerns to the decoration. Cizhou pillow of this form and design usually decorated in sgrafitto, but your pillow look painted and then incised on the black pigment. I wonder if this painted design trying to copy sgrafitto design during that period. The depiction of peony looks odd. At the lower part of the peony was drawn like seen in lotus. I have never seen peony in early cizhou was drawn like this. I hope you will find sometimes later.

Hi Brian, have you done the water test I suggested? The other point is that where the glaze peels off is there any sign of artificial wear? Is the pottery material on the salt dam area where the glaze is peeling soft and scratchable? Can you flick off the glaze in the area that is peeling easily. The construction of your pillow is that of a white glaze back ground with black painted decoration, on a light gray stone ware. This is different from the earlier carved sgraffito decoration which ALF is concern about. Yours date from 13th to 14th century Yuan dynasty. The style of painting and the peony is correct. It has a typical Song- Yuan, S shape format painting. Good luck

This is not Cizhou ware pillow. The dark brown glaze will not have shade of yellow.

It's not peony, it's a modern day strawberry.

This kind of pillow made of Stoneware. Dropping water on it will not prove anything, because stoneware will not absorb water like earthenware.

What is TLS test?

Hello Brian,

Glaze on the top looks quite well done...mm...not really..., but bottom and black glaze under would suggest heavy repair...or fake...

General aspect is "not quite right": proportions, shape and drawing design...but that's a feeling.

A very good criteria here would be its weight...old ceramics from that period are much lighter than copies...

Chips also, on authentic Cizhou ceramics they are very common and are characteristic...(like glaze aspect or drawing style) ...from that point of view it is a copy. I could find good pictures to illustrate...let me look for it or...a quick look at museums items on internet...

Just an opinion from pictures of course, but I've seen quite a few Cizhou pillows in the past years, since they became very popular in China mainland years ago...we've got a lot of fakes flowding the market here too...

A good expert would tell from picture when and where a fake has been produced...

This is not a recent fake obviously neither a good looking one, recent fakes can be far more tricky.

Feel free to Email me directly if you wish more detailed informations or a third and more expert opinion. My friend and associate happend to be a great expert in ceramic from that period.


Pipane









URL Title :Pipane Asian Art Gallery

Sorry, above samples are Cizhou ware fakes, Pipane Asian Art Gallery are all fakes from Panjaiyuan antique market, Beijing have a lot of that.

I've added a couple more pictures and a few notes. First of all, The stoneware body is quite vitrified and will not absorb any water so the smell test is not working. The flaking glaze on the lower left is solid and does not flake off easily. It almost looks like a firing flaw or adhesion from the kiln. These were fired upright on edge so there could be some grit in that area although most, not all of this type pillow seems to have been cleaned of glaze on the bottom edge before standing in the kiln. This one was cleaned also but some grit still managed to stick.
There does appear to be some calcification or cloudiness under the glaze. I do not see any artificial wear on it at all. In fact, I do not see much wear of any kind, only some slight difference of gloss on the glaze. There are definitely no restorations and no chips. The paste is quite hard and a gray to buff color. The glaze on the underside does not have any yellow in it but looks more like a temmoku type that breaks form bluish-black to brown.
The staining is a rust color, almost orange. I have looked at it under 15x magnification and the stains seem to permeate through and under the glaze and have stained the white slip also under the glaze. These stains do originate from the surface and were clearly not put there before the glaze was applied. This was one of the reasons I purchased it since I have seen that same kind of staining on genuine period pieces. The clear glaze under magnification has lots of bubbles of all sizes especially noticeable where the glaze is thicker.
In 1980 Mino states that this type of decoration originates from the Kuan-t'ai kilns around the early 12th century and he shows a couple good examples in his book. I have seen other examples online and the decoration is very similar on all the pieces. I know that there has been a lot of new discoveries since then and much has been published in Chinese but alas I cannot read it. Perhaps some of our Chinese reading members can enlighten us.
It is interesting to see the differing opinions here and I welcome them all. I still don't know if this object is genuine. Some aspects of it make me think one way while others make me lean opposite. It may be that a thermoluminescence test will be the only way to find out. I have a couple other Cizhou pieces that I cannot figure out and may post them here in the future.

Hi Brian, On your first picture on your latest post, right at the bottom where the wear is, there is some parallel cut mark. Can you magnify that. The reason being there is possiblity of some artificial wearing with a drill here. This is a common trick in China where they artificially wear the artifact with a electrical tool. Yes your best way of telling the age is with a TL test. Where did you get this pillow?

Brian

Why Cizhou stoneware has yellow color on dark brown glaze? Your pillow is a sample of Cizhou ware replicas made from Tang figurines factory fake found in China Towns. Pipane Gallery is nothing but heavy sign of age fake products for catching tourists on China streets.

"glaze peeling off from salt dam due to burial"

Why burial ground is salty? organic compound in the soil is salty? never heard this before.

In my opinion,Do not take TL testing for this piece since the decoration especially the depiction of peony is wrong for Song or Jin, or Yuan or Ming. My impression to the pillow is modern.

Kind regards, Alf.

Interresting...

So easy...

What makes you think that...?

Do you even know what you're talking about?

...Mmmm...

Let's everyone make his own opinion...

Our associate and expert in Song Yuan ceramics (not mentioning other experts we are working with) is known as Tang Dade (link below), he is quite reputated...let's say among the ten best experts in Beijing ...in this period precisely.

but thank you "Maertge" for you insight...

http://www.cctv.com/program/jb/20040329/101181.shtml

http://www.cctv.com/program/jb/20040301/100994.shtml


Now, for our enlightment, would you explain what did you mean, how you know us and if you have any kind of expertise in that precize field...?


:0

Pipane
Manager at Pipane Asian Art gallery

You posted links in Chinese, but thanks for google translation kit.

Many Chinese eBay English language user sellers referred to experts to sell their fake and Tang Dade is one in there, unfortunately Tang Dade surely can not read English. How can he defend his reputation ruined by those sellers.

Does Tang Dade works with some lab people to certify his findings?

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