Disk (bi 璧)

Thin perforated disc of the type pi [bi] 璧; translucent, mottled light golden browns and pale yellowish green; outer edge uneven and much thinner than at perforation; several dark strata cracks.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

(Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, March 24, 2009) Possibly late Neolithic. Coarse grained material, light golden brown and pale yellowish green. Unevenly round, uneven thickness, edge thinner than center at hole. Surface repolished smooth; convex profile of hole also suggests repolishing of biconical hole.

Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
Diam x D: 16.8 x 0.7 cm (6 5/8 x 1/4 in) Diam (hole): 6.2 cm (2 7/16 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1917.136
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)
Provenance

To 1917
Tonying and Company, New York to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tonying and Company, 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. 1069, pg. 238, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. By at least 1917, Tonying and Company maintained business locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, London, and New York, NY.

[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
Tonying and Company (C.L. Freer source) established 1902

Description

Thin perforated disc of the type pi [bi] 璧; translucent, mottled light golden browns and pale yellowish green; outer edge uneven and much thinner than at perforation; several dark strata cracks.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

(Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, March 24, 2009) Possibly late Neolithic. Coarse grained material, light golden brown and pale yellowish green. Unevenly round, uneven thickness, edge thinner than center at hole. Surface repolished smooth; convex profile of hole also suggests repolishing of biconical hole.

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)

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