Object: Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid and masks S2012.9.1287

Classification: Ceremonial Object

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

Object Date: 206 BCE-9 CE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x Diam (overall): 19 × 0.7 cm (7 1/2 × 1/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S2012.9.1287

: 凸面規則網格穀紋和獸面紋璧
西漢（公元前206--公元9年）
中國
軟玉
直徑2.5、厚0.5釐米；孔徑
史密森博物學院亞瑟·M·賽克勒美術館保羅·辛格中國藝術收藏品；亞瑟·M·賽克勒基金會，保羅·辛格，AMS基金會，及亞瑟·M·賽克勒子女聯合贈送
器物編號：S2012.9.1287

Provenance: ?-1997
Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997), method of acquisition unknown [1]

1997-1999
In the custody of Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon death of Paul Singer and establishment of a loan agreement [2]

From 1999
The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler [3]

Notes:

[1] The collection of Chinese art and antiquities assembled by Dr. Paul Singer over time was purchased by him on behalf of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Jillian Sackler, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities and later was transferred to the children of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler.

[2] The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art came into the custody of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, upon Paul Singer’s death in January 1997. See loan agreement between the Executors of the Singer Estate and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, February 1997, copy in collection accession files. In March 2023, the museum's legal name changed to National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution.

[3] The entirety of the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art formally accessioned in 2012. See the Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art gift agreement, March 1999, copy in collection accession files. The work is part of the Museum’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection.

Research updated on June 12, 2024.

Previous owner(s): Dr. Paul Singer (1904-1997)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, August 2, 2022) Medium changed from Jade to Jade (nephrite).
2. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 7, 2023) Title changed from "Disk" to "Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid and masks"; Period One changed from "Eastern Zhou dynasty" to "Western Han dynasty"; Date changed from "3rd century BCE" to "206 BCE-9 CE"; removed "Warring States period" from Period Two; and added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry (no. 369) for S2012.9.1287 for the catalogue of the Singer Collection (1970-1990); by Wu Tung
Disk
Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, Warring States period, 3d century BCE
Jade
Diameter 18.3 cm (7 3/16 in)
Most such bi 璧 disks, decorated with stylized animal motifs and incised spirals over a raised ground, are found in early Western Han 漢 tombs in various parts of China. A small number, however, have also been discovered by archaeologists at several late Warring States sites. The present disk is exceptionally well designed and executed. The deeply cut accents and delicately incised outlines of the animal form are subtly balanced. Details such as the small crosshatches and hornlike motifs, which are often omitted in works of lesser quality, enhance and animate the overall design on the jade bi 璧.
Published: Max Loehr, Relics of Ancient China, from the Collection of Dr. Paul Singer (New York: Asia Society, 1965), no. 76.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid and masks

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