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Pillow in the Shape of a Twin-Headed Bird

Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Stuffed with plant stalks, this pillow features a pattern of stylized birds and beasts. Interspersed are Chinese characters reading, “extend years, increase longevity, and benefit sons and grandsons.” The two tips forming bird’s heads have led to the pillow’s identification as a “rooster-crowing pillow” (jimingzhen), a burial item intended to carry the deceased into heaven, but no historical texts of the period can corroborate the term. The two-headed form more likely represents a mythical bird than an actual rooster.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 东汉 “延年益寿大宜子孙” 铭锦枕
  • Title: Pillow in the Shape of a Twin-Headed Bird
  • Period: Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Woven silk jin (warp-faced compound plain weave), two amber beads
  • Dimensions: H. 6 in.. (15.2 cm): W. 19 in. (48.3 cm): D. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Brocades
  • Credit Line: Lent by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art
Pillow in the Shape of a Twin-Headed Bird - China - Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art