Chinese Leather Pillow

A fat red bolster with a charred-looking black cap at each end and a small crack on top.

This lacquered leather and rattan pillow is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the late 19th century. Lacquer is made from the sap of the lacquer tree, and layers applied over leather or wood harden into a smooth, durable and water-resistant surface. A rectangular roll in bright orange-red, slightly pinched at the waist, with glossy black ends showing a brown brown face. A thin crack runs across the middle, and the surface is smooth and polished. It is 10 inches wide, 5 deep and 5 high.

Bright as a firecracker and about as sturdy as one.