Disk (bi 璧)

Object Details

• Description

  Small perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; semitranslucent, mottled greenish and brownish yellow; a beveled area on rim, one long crack.

  (Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database) Evenly round and quite evenly thick. Mottled greenish brownish material; see F1917.81. Conical hole (?), drilled off center, now polished smooth and straight.

• Provenance

  To 1912

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), London, to 1912 [1]

  From 1912 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Abel William Bahr, London, in 1912 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 362, pg. 106, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) was a collector and dealer born in Shanghai, China. After he left Shanghai in 1910, he lived, at various points in time, in London, Montreal, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. He established a gallery in New York City in 1920.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Bahr, Abel William

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Nephrite, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE), Jade

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects