Stone lion door pillow

[Stone Lion Door Pillow]

Stone Lion Door Pillow, a pair of 37.5cm high and 50cm wide in the third year of Liaoda’an (1087)
The door pillow, commonly known as the door pier, the door seat, the door sill, and the ballast stone, is a functional component that is placed on both sides of the door threshold and stabilizes the door shaft. It is called the door pillow because it looks like the pillow of the door frame. It can not only bear the weight, but also strengthen the door frame, because there were no hinges and hinges on the waiting door in ancient times, and the door leaves were mainly fixed by the door pillows and couplets. At the latest, the door pillow had appeared in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The stone ticket door of the tomb of Empress Wencheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty had a door pillow, and its exterior was also carved into the image of a tiger head
The upper part of the door pillow is a lion cub. The lion cub is squatting and lying with open teeth. Compared with the lion image of the offspring, it is slightly gentle and lovely. The lion here plays a role in warding off evil spirits. The front and outer sides of the pillow stone are carved with peony and other patterns, and the line carving is smooth and fine, and skilled. The peony implies wealth and honor, and the carved peony implies the prosperity and prosperity of the family. The door pillow is engraved with regular script: “On May 23, the third year of Da’an, Xiao Yi bought a door pillow. Li Yi made it.” Although the inscription is not long, there is no doubt that the specific time, the owner of the door pillow and the carving craftsman have provided us with physical data for studying the door pillow of the Liao Dynasty.

石狮子门枕