Object: Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid and interlaced birds F1917.137

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE

Object Date: 206 BCE-220 CE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 14.6 × 0.6 cm (5 3/4 × 1/4 in) Diam (Hole): 2.2 cm (7/8 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1917.137

: 凸面網格蒲紋和交鳥紋璧
漢代（公元前206--公元220年）
中國
軟玉
直徑14.6、厚0.6釐米；孔徑2.2釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1917.137

Provenance: To 1917
Tonying and Company, New York, to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from Tonying and Company, New York, in 1917 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1070, p. 238, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. By at least 1917, Tonying and Company maintained business locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, London, and New York, NY.

[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): Tonying and Company 通運公司 (C.L. Freer source) (established 1902)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Tonying and Company 通運公司, New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, page 238.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Han 漢. See further, S.I. 1070, Appendix VIII. (See Paragraph 6)
3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Late Han 漢 dynasty (?). Derived from combined ku pi [gu bi] 穀璧 and p'u pi [pu bi] 蒲璧 types, see Folder Sheet F1939.14, note 3, for discussion of type. This may be a Ch'ing [Qing] 清 dynasty reproduction of Han 漢 type.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.903.
5. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information and has now been destroyed.
6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from "Late Han 漢 dynasty (?)" to "Han 漢 Dynasty." The incised design on the outer zone of the pi [bi] 璧 is related to that on some Han gilt bronze vessels such as F1918.153 both in style and in subject matter.
7. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) "Ceremonial Object" added as secondary classification.
8. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, May 6, 2010) Title changed from "Ritual disk, Bi 璧" to "Disk (bi 璧)"; Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial Object."
9. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 8, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)."
10. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 7, 2023) Title changed from "Disk (bi)" to "Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid and interlaced birds"; and added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang.

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0): This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. 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 | Terms of use

Disk (bi) with raised hexagons arranged in a grid and interlaced birds

Related Objects

Related Media

Web Resources