Disk (bi 璧)

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE
  • Geography

    Lake Tai region, China
  • Material

    Jade (nephrite)
  • Dimension

    Diam x D: 13.1 × 0.8 cm (5 3/16 × 5/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1916.509
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1916.509

Object Details

  • Description

    Perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; bored from both sides leaving slight median ridge; finely mottled reddish browns with one greenish streak of much harder material (jade [?]); satin smooth surface, irregular proportions in diameter and thickness. (Rim chipped.)
  • Provenance

    Possibly excavated in Lo-yang, Honan [1]
    To 1916
    You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1916 [2]
    From 1916 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York in 1916 [3]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
    Notes:
    [1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record, this object was "said to have been excavated in Lo-yang, Honan."
    [2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1055, pg. 235, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
    [3] See note 2.
    [4] 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
  • Exhibition History

    Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
    Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Lake Tai region, China
  • Culture

    Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Ceremonial Object
  • Restrictions and Rights

    CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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