Object: Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid F1917.356

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, or Western Han dynasty, 475-100 BCE

Object Date: 475-100 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 0.4 x 17.1 cm (3/16 x 6 3/4 in) Diam (hole): 4 cm (1 9/16 in)

Origin: China, purportedly found at Shaanxi province, Xi'an

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1917.356

: 凸面規則網格谷紋璧
東周戰國或西漢時期（公元前475--100年）
中國，傳陝西出土
軟玉
直徑17.1、厚0.4釐米；孔徑4釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1917.356

Provenance: Reportedly excavated in Shaanxi province [1]

To 1917
You Xiaoxi (late 19th–early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [2]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, NY, in 1917 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1296, p. 291, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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): You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Past label text: 1. Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades, October 14, 2017–April 15, 2018; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1918.27, F1917.50, F2002.16, and F1916.155)
Bi 璧 with knobs
China, Warring States period and early Han 漢 dynasty, 475–100 BCE
Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Bi 璧 Revival
Many jade forms stopped being made with the passing of the Neolithic Liangzhu 良渚 culture. Well over a thousand years later, however, the chance discovery of long forgotten Liangzhu 良渚 tombs in central China may have sparked a revival in the use of certain types of funerary objects. Some burial sites from the Zhou 周 dynasty (circa 1050–256 BCE), for example, include reburied Neolithic bi 璧, while others hold new disks placed prominently on or around the deceased, as if echoing ancient rites.

Bi 璧 unearthed in later tombs are generally made of thin slices of nephrite decorated on both sides to create a textured surface. A glassy polish gave the translucent objects a highly reflective surface that marked a new aesthetic in working with jade.

In a twist of retro fashion, the lowest bi 璧 (F1917.50) seen here was likely decorated more than two millennia after the two disks it resembles. The smooth, undecorated surface of an authentic Liangzhu 良渚 disk was reworked to look like late Bronze Age versions, a practice made popular during the reign of the Qianlong 乾隆 emperor (1735–96).

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪, of Shanghai 上海, in New York, NY. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 291.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1296, Appendix VIII. Excavated in Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西 Province.
3. (John Ellerton Lodge, 1929) Han 漢.
4. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Late Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty. For discussion of type "pi [bi] 璧," see Folder Sheet F1939.14, note 3.
5. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.958. Decomposition prevents a more accurate calculation for nephrite.
6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周, Warring States period, 3rd century BCE. See Folder Sheet F1916.510.
7. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) "Ceremonial Object" added as secondary classification.
8. (Stephen Allee, March 23, 2009) Added designation "Nephrite" to Medium as per Janet Douglas using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (January 8, 2009). Also, as per Jenny F. So and Christine Lee, Jade Project Database: changed Period One from "Eastern Zhou dynasty" to "Late Eastern Zhou 周 to Western Han 漢 dynasty"; changed Date from "3rd century BCE" to "475-100 BCE"; changed Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial object"; changed Title from "Ritual disk, Bi 璧" to "Disk (bi 璧)"; and added Dimensions.
9. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 10, 2010) Title changed from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Disk (bi 璧) with knobs." Period changed from "Late Eastern Zhou 周 to Han 漢 dynasty" to "Eastern Zhou 周 dynasty, Warring States period to early Western Han 漢 dynasty."
10. (Susan Kitsoulis per label text from exhibition of Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes, Freer Gallery of Art, November 20, 2010) Changed Period One from "Eastern Zhou 周 to early Western Han 漢 dynasty" to "Warring States period or early Han 漢 dynasty."
11. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 5, 2023) Title changed from "Disk (bi) with knobs" to "Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid"; Period One changed from "Warring States period or early Han dynasty" to "Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period, or Western Han dynasty"; added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang; and Geography changed from "China" to "China, purportedly found at Shaanxi province".

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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

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