Ho Ho Boy Headrest

To keep her elaborate hairstyle intact while sleeping, a well-to-do Qing-dynasty woman once used this ceramic headrest as a pillow. This headrest is shaped in the form of a “Ho Ho” boy and would have been used to invoke good fortune. Children were a popular motif in Chinese art, and were considered lucky talismans, especially for prospective parents. This ho ho boy headrest may have once been used by a pregnant woman, hoping the pillow would give her dreams of a healthy baby.