Disk (bi 璧) with knobs

Object Details

• Description

  Perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; bored from both sides, leaving slight median ridge; richly mottled olive greens and tan to golden browns with scattered, lighter, translucent strata, small blackish area near rim on one side only; profuse delicate veinings with earth incrustations; decoration: grain pattern in form of semi circular knobs in high relief between plain beveled margins.

  Acquired with a box, now lost.

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1139, pg. 257 Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.

  [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

• Exhibition History

  Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)

  Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Culture

  Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• On View

  Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades

• 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, Li, Wenqing

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Nephrite, Jade, Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE)

• Culture

  Chinese, Liangzhu culture

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects

• On View

  Yes