Lucky Girl Headrest

To keep her elaborate hairstyle intact while sleeping, a well-to-do Qing-dynasty woman would use a rigid headrest or neck pillow to keep her head elevated. Whether functional or purely decorative, such headrests were crafted from a variety of materials and were often decorated with elaborate patterns or symbolic motifs.

This porcelain headrest is shaped in the form of a reclining young girl and finished with a glossy dark brown glaze. Children were a popular motif in Chinese art and furniture, and were considered lucky talismans, especially for prospective parents. Perhaps this headrest was once used by an expectant mother, in hopes the pillow would give her dreams of a healthy baby.