Disk (bi 璧)

Object Details

• Description

  Perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; bored from both sides, leaving pronounced median ridge; richly mottled olive greens and reddish to dark browns; traces of cream-colored incipient disintegration on obverse, more plentiful on reverse; circular saw marks on obverse. (Rim chipped in several places.)

  Acquired with a box, now lost.

• Provenance

  To 1918

  Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1918 [1]

  From 1918 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang, in New York, in 1918 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1353, pg. 312, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

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

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (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

• 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

  Wang, Jiantang, Freer, Charles Lang

• 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

• On View

  Yes