Ring with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid

1. Bought through C. T. Loo and Company, New York, from Chang Nai chi [Zhang Naiji] 張乃驥. For price, see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List After 1920.

2. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1939) See Folder Sheet F1939.6, Paragraph 2.

3. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Referring to the three principal types of annular jades, Erh ya [Erya] 爾雅 says (in effect): "If the breadth of the ring be twice the diameter of the hole, then the jade is a pi [bi] 璧; if the diameter of the hole be twice the breadth of the ring, then the jade is a yuan 瑗; if the breadth of the ring and the diameter of the hole be equal, then the jade is a huan 環." It is, however, very  doubtful that this simple formula was ever strictly followed: certainly it is not generally applicable to the ancient annular jades which have survived. Perhaps the closest possible approach to anything like the rule consists in saying that a ceremonial jade of this general type having a relatively small hole, i.e., a perforated disk as distinguished from a ring, may safely be called a pi [bi] 璧, while a ring may be called a pi [bi] 璧 or a huan 環 if it be broad, or a yuan 瑗 if it be narrow.  Thus, the present example must be either a pi [bi] 璧 or a huan 環, even though it does not conform with the formula for either; and if the classification used by Wu Ta ch'eng [Wu Dacheng] 吳大澂 {if his Ku-yu t'u k'ao [Guyu tu kao] 古玉圖考 (Shanghai: Tongwen shuju, 1889), Vol. I:25--47) be adopted, the piece should be called a pi [bi] 璧  (op. cit. pp. 38-40) or possibly a ku pi [gu bi] 穀璧--the word ku [gu] 穀, "grain," referring to the relief pattern of small spirals (op. cit. p. 29)}.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.944. Decomposition prevents a more accurate calculation for nephrite.

5. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1982], cat. no. 120) The flat disk has a large central perforation and is of green gray jade with irregularly shaped areas of lighter and darker colors. Incised, slightly raised rims emphasize the inner and outer edges of the disk. Both surfaces of the disk are decorated with low relief spirals arranged in a precise geometrical pattern. The accuracy of the original attribution of the disk to Shou chou [Shou xian] 壽縣, Anhui 安徽 province--although reasonable--cannot be ascertained.

According to traditional Chinese connoisseurship, discoloration of the type that appears on this disk is said to  occur on jades that have been buried inside or in close proximity with bronze vessels. In his discussion of "Old Jade," Kao Lien, the late Ming dynasty connoisseur, speaks of discoloration of jade as being caused by contact with bronze vessels. [1] That theory has been repeated many times. One of the most recent statements is provided  by Na Chih liang [Na Zhiliang] 那志良. [2] Several large caches of jade have been unearthed inside bronze vessels in recent years. [3] None displayed a similar color change, a circumstance that provides no support for the traditional statement.

[1] Kao Lien [Gao Lian] 高濂, Yen-hsien ch'ing-shang chien [Yanxian qingshang jian] 燕閑清賞箋, I-shu tsung-pien [Yishu congbian]藝術叢編 edition (Taibei, 1961), p. 173.

[2] Na Chih-liang [Na Zhiliang] 那志良, Yu-ch'i t'ung-shih [Yuqi tongshi] 玉器通釋 (Hong Kong: Kaifa gufen youxian gongsi 1964), Vol. 2:54.

[3] Hunan sheng wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 湖南省文物管理委員會, "Changsha Yangtianhu di 25 hao muguo mu長沙仰天湖第25號木槨墓," Kaogu xuebao 考古學報 1957.2, pp. 85--94, pl. 3: 1; Gao Zhixi 高至喜, "Hunan Ningxiang Huangcai faxian Shangdai tongqi he yizhi 湖南寧鄉黃材發現商代銅器和遺址," Kaogu 考古 1963.12, pp. 646--48, pl. 4:1--2; Hunan sheng bowuguan 湖南省博物館, "Hunan sheng gongnongbing qunzhong reai zuguo wenhua yichan 湖南省工農兵群眾熱愛祖國文化遺產," Wenwu 文物 1972.1, pp. 6--7.

6. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 18, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Date from "4th--3rd century BCE" to "475--221 BCE"; added Previous Owner: Zhang Naiqi [Zhang Naiji] 張乃驥, 1897--1977. Changed Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Jewelry (pendant)"; changed Title from "Ritual disk, Bi 璧" to "Pendant in the form of a disk (bi 璧) with raised knobs." Added Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

7. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, June 23, 2008) Added "Reputedly Shouzhou [Shou xian] 壽縣, Anhui 安徽 province, Probably Jincun 金村,  Henan 河南 province" to Geographical Location, Origin.

8. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 29, 2008) Jewelry and Ornament added as secondary classification.

9. (Stephen Allee, June 2, 2009) Corrected name of previous owner from Zhang Naiqi to Zhang Naiji 張乃驥 and added Chinese characters, as well as his life dates (1899-1948) and a brief biography.

10. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, July 9, 2010) Deleted "(pendant)" from Object Name.

11. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 8, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade (nephrite?)" to "Jade (nephrite)."

12. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, November 14, 2023) Title changed from "Pendant in the form of a disk (bi) with raised knobs" to "Ring with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid"; Object Name changed from "Pendant" to "Ring"; Geography changed from "Reputedly Shouzhou, Anhui province, Probably Jincun, Henan province, China" to " China, probably Henan province, Jincun, but purportedly found at Anhui province, Shou xian"; changed Classfication from "Jewelry and Ornament" to "Ceremonial Object"; and added Chinese caption by Jingmin Zhang.