Object: Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid S1987.463

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Western Han dynasty, 206 BCE-9 CE

Object Date: 206 BCE-9 CE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 14.5 × 0.4 cm (5 11/16 × 1/8 in) Diam (hole): 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.463

: 凸面網格蒲紋璧
西漢（公元前206-公元9年）
中國
軟玉
直徑14.5、厚0.4釐米；孔徑4.4釐米
亞瑟·M·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.463

Provenance: To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877–1959), Shanghai, China; London, England; Montreal, Canada; New York, NY; and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1959 to 1963
Edna Bahr (1907–1986) by inheritance upon the death of Abel William Bahr [2]

From 1963 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York, NY, purchased from the Bahr Collection in 1963 [3]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [4]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] Edna Bahr inherited upon the death of her father, Abel William Bahr. Edna Bahr divided the collection, making gifts to museums and selling to private collectors. She sold several pieces to Arthur M. Sackler in 1963.

[3] See #123: “Disk with center opening. White stained red yellow and brown; Center field of hexagonal dots in relief, bound in narrow engraved rope designs,” on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

[4] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous owner(s): Abel William Bahr (1877-1959)
Edna H. Bahr (1907-1986)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) "Ceremonial Object" added as secondary classification.
2. (Stephen Allee, March 24, 2009) Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, gives Period One as "Late Eastern Zhou 周 or Early Western Han 漢" and Date as: "475--100 BCE"; but as per Keith Wilson, changed "Han 漢 dynasty" to "Western Han 漢 dynasty" and changed Date from "3d--1st centuries BCE" to "2nd--1st century BCE." As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, added Description and Related Works. As per Keith Wilson, changed Title from "Ritual disk, Bi 璧" to "Disk (bi 璧) with knobs"; changed Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial object." Changed Medium "Jade" to "Jade (?)," as no scientific analysis is recorded. Added Measurements (Diam x D: 14.5 x 0.35; Diam [hole]: 4.4), as per Christine Lee, Jade Project Database.

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 11, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade (?)" to "Jade (nephrite)."
4. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 6, 2023) Title changed from "Disk (bi) with knobs" to "Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid"; Date changed from "2nd-1st century BCE" to "206 BCE-9 CE"; and added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. 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 National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Save this image | Request Permission | Terms of use

Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid

Related Objects

Web Resources