Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Liangzhu culture 良渚 (ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 3300-2250 BCE

Object Date: ca. 3300-2250 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 16.9 x 1.6 cm (6 5/8 x 5/8 in) Diam (hole): 4.3 cm (1 11/16 in)

Origin: China, Lake Tai region

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1914.66a-b

: 璧
新石器時代晚期良渚文化（公元前3300--2250年）
中國太湖地區
軟玉
直徑16.9、厚1.6釐米；孔徑4.3釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1914.66a-b

Provenance: To 1914
Huang Zhonghui (circa 1870- after 1923), to 1914 [1]

From 1914 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Huang Zhonghui, in New York, in 1914 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, pg. 151, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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): Huang Zhonghui 黃中慧 (C.L. Freer source) (ca. 1870-after 1923)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; bored from both sides; rich cream color with tan mottlings and an area at the rim on both sides of bright orange-brown; irregular in circumference and thickness. (Three rough areas on rim.)

Past label text: Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1917.354, F1918.28, F1919.27, F1917.345, F1917.19, F1919.18, F1917.83, F1917.350, F1918.25, F1918.26, F1917.344)
Bi 璧 disks
Neolithic period, Liangzhu 良渚 culture, ca. 3300–2250 BCE
Jade (nephrite)

Although the circular shape of these bi 璧 resembles earlier jade pendants, their sheer size and weight make them impossible to wear. Such disks most likely held a ritual significance since thousands of them have been found at Liangzhu 良渚 burial sites. The ones fashioned from finer jade and smoothed to a lustrous polish were typically placed nearest the deceased’s body, while those of lesser-quality stone and with unfinished surfaces were often arranged in short stacks below the feet.

The finest Liangzhu 良渚 bi 璧 (pronounced bee) were crafted from dark, even-grained nephrite. They were meticulously shaped with a circular edge and a central hole, signs of great patience and skilled workmanship. Perhaps more interesting are the imperfectly shaped disks. Some still retain evidence of the jade boulder’s rough edges. Others preserve traces of tool marks, such as the shallow cuts that resulted from string saws methodically rubbing back and forth across the flat stone surface thousands of years ago.

Liangzhu 良渚 jade bi 璧
Thousands of jade bi 璧, too large to be worn as jewelry, have been unearthed in elite burial sites associated with the Liangzhu 良渚 culture. Variations are apparent in the size of the disks, the quality of the stone used, the level of workmanship, and the finish of the bi 璧, yet their meaning, purpose, and ritual significance remain unknown. A century ago Charles Lang Freer acquired all of these bi 璧 largely for their aesthetic appeal at a time when nothing was known of the Liangzhu 良渚 culture.

Usually fashioned from even-grained dark nephrite, the most exceptional examples of bi 璧 are perfectly circular in circumference. On some, traces of sawing and grinding have been completely polished away, and the smooth surfaces are buffed to a lustrous shine. In many cases, however, the flawed stone is irregular in shape, and the disk still retains intriguing evidence of its manufacture.

Working jade is an extremely laborious process that involves both slicing and removing unwanted stone with powdered abrasive minerals, such as quartz, garnet, or corundum. Slabs were cut from boulders of jade probably found in river beds. The back-and-forth movement of flexible string or strap saws typically left traces of shallow concave cut marks. A rigid stone saw might have shaped the outer edges with a series of straight cuts. Hollow tubular bits, aided by mineral abrasives and water, could have been used to drill the central hole from both sides of the disk to avoid breakage. A tiny projecting ridge inside the hole remains if the drill bits were improperly aligned. To finish the bi 璧, the outer edge might have been turned on a lathe. Lastly, the surface was polished with fine abrasives to create a high sheen.

2. (Keith Wilson, "Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades," Gallery 19, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 14, 2017 to Apr 15, 2018)

Bi
China, late Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300–2250 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1914.66

A Swarm of Bi
Thousands of jade bi (pronounced bee) have been unearthed in elite Liangzhu culture burial sites, varying in size, quality of stone, level of workmanship, and finish. Yet the meaning, purpose, and ritual significance of bi remain unknown.

On the most exceptional examples, which are perfect circles of even-grained dark nephrite, sawing and grinding marks have been completely polished away. On other bi you can still see traces of shallow cuts that resulted from string saws rubbed methodically back and forth across the flat stone surface.

Bi fashioned from finer jade and smoothed to a lustrous polish were typically buried near the deceased’s body. Those of lesser-quality stone and with unfinished surfaces were often stacked below the feet.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Hwang Chung huei [Huang Zhonghui] 黃中慧, New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 151. $305.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Prior to San Tai [Sandai] 三代. See further, S.I. 524, Appendix VI (see Paragraph 6).

3. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Early Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.679.

5. (Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, 1958) Nephrite. X ray diffraction, film F617.

6. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from Early Chou [Zhou] 周 to Neolithic. See Folder Sheet for F1917.19.

8. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, January 21, 2008) Late Neolithic period, Lake Tai 太湖 region, Liangzhu 良渚 culture.

9. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, February 4, 2008) On this date entered: Date (3300--2250 BCE), Title, Object name; plus Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database. Identification of nephrite (see note 5 above) confirmed by Wen Guang 聞廣, as determined by infrared spectroscopy June 1997.

10. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Ceremonial Objects added as secondary classification.

11. (Rebecca Merritt, December 13, 2013) Transferred from Published References: So, Jenny. Catalogue.

12. (Jeffrey Smith, April 13, 2016) Transferred from Description: (Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Completely altered creamy white with orange brown patches at rim. Biconical hole with ridge at meeting point, centered; perhaps reground. Surface smooth.

Published References

Hugo Munsterberg. A Short History of Chinese Art. New York, 1949. pl. 7.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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