Disk (bi 璧) with knobs

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.

Maker(s)
Artist: Liangzhu culture 良渚 (ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE)
Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, reworked and decorated in late Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, or Qing dynasty, 3300-2250 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
Diam x D: 16.9 x 1.2 cm (6 5/8 x 1/2 in) Diam (hole): 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1917.50
On View Location
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: disk (bi)

Keywords
China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), nephrite, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE)
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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Li Wenqing (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1869-1931

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.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use