asian pillow

hi cw...I got this Asian pillow and I still laugh when I think about what I did when I found it in the thrift store....I was looking for a wooden tea tray and I came across this rectangular squishy object...I looked it over, up and down, trying to find the 'lid' for it...I was guessing it was a box...I couldn't see a seam or hinges etc so I grabbed a hold of it and gave it a hard whack against the shelf.....lol...the whack didn't make it pop open...so I kept turning it around and around...I have never seen anything like this before so I decided I was going to buy it...as I was walking home I decided to stop and find a place to sit for a minute or so...I took my new find out of the bag and kept looking it over...then it 'hit' me...lol....I bet this is some kind of pillow! when I whacked it earlier I damaged it slightly...as u can see in picture #4...there is a hairline crack....later after I arrived home I went on the internet and found out that this was an opium pillow...very interesting! it is a handmade lacquered bamboo pillow and it is used in the opium house...it is specially made and is supposed to keep the neck cool while the opium smoker rests their head....I do not know how old this item is and I welcome any comments or info about this unusual item...thank you for looking and love this site!