Disk (bi 璧)

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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 2000s, BCE 3000s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, You, Xiaoxi

• Place

  Lake Tai region, China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), Chinese Art, Nephrite, Jade

• Culture

  Chinese, Liangzhu culture

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects