RARE QINGBAI 'TWIN BOYS' PILLOW, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

RARE QINGBAI 'TWIN BOYS' PILLOW, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY, the finely-modelled playful children lying head-to-tail on their stomachs with heads turned and legs raised, beneath a lotus leaf-form curved headrest, 17cm long Provenance: Woolley & Wallis, 20th May 2009, lot 213. Note: This charming and rare headrest belongs to a group of related figural examples produced in the Jingdezhen kilns during the Song Dynasty, particularly at the Hutian kilns where shards have been excavated. It is very rare to find twin boy pillows and the only other recorded example seems to be that illustrated in Kerr, Rose, Song Through 21st Century Eyes, Dreumel 2009, pl. 2-16. For a single boy pillow see Sotheby's Hong Kong, 1st June 2015, lot 607. Figural pillows of boys were also produced at other kilns, most notably in Ding ware. The dating of this lot is consistent with Oxford Authentication TL test certificate P105h82 (2005).