1. (Jenny F. So, December 2, 1999) This unusually large bi 璧 disk is a near mate to one in the Freer Gallery of Art (F1956.16) and constitutes two of the largest known nephrite disks in existence. Recent publications and Professor Wen Guang's 聞廣 research into the materials used for ritual jades both associate disks like the Singer and Freer examples with the late Neolithic Qijia 齊家 culture (ca. 2200--2000 BCE) in northwest China. The distinctive material, exceptional size, and drilling technique are all characteristic of these jades. The Singer disk both adds to and validates the Freer example, which has been long misunderstood as a twentieth-century product.
2. (Janet Douglas, undated Folder Sheet note, ca. 1997--99) This bi 璧 disk was studied along with a similar bi 璧 disk in the Freer collection, F1956.16. Wen Guang 聞廣 believes the bi 璧 disks are from the Qijia Longshan 家齊家-龍山 culture. Both were found to be similar in workmanship, and almost identical in jade material. Both bi's 璧 are similar in color, texture, weathering, and chemical composition as determined by X ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The bis 璧 are thought to have been carved from the same jade boulder.
3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) Ceremonial Objects added as secondary classification.
4. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Object name changed from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial Objects."
5. (Keith Wilson March 1, 2013) Artist changed from "Liangzhu 良渚 culture" to "Qijia 齊家 culture."
Draft catalogue entry (no. 23) for S1999.120.2 for the catalogue of the Singer collection (1970--1990); by Louisa F. Huber
Disk
Neolithic period, 3d millennium BCE
Jade
Diameter 42 cm (16 1/2 in.)
The disk is slightly uneven around its outer perimeter. The perforation, which is drilled from one side only, is comparatively small in relation to the disk's surface. The jade is green, with a tangential bluish-black streak, and amber, tan, and whitish flecks. Numerous comparable examples are known from excavated burials of the Liangzhu 良渚 culture in Jiangsu 江蘇 and northern Zhejiang 浙江. [1]
Note
[1] Compare, for instance, Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 浙江省文物考古研究所, Shanghai shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 上海市文物管理委员会, and Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, Hong Kong: Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), nos. 72--87.
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