Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Warring States period, Eastern Zhou dynasty, 475-221 BCE

Object Date: 475-221 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 14.4 x 0.4 cm (5 5/8 x 3/16 in)

Origin: China, Shaanxi Province, Xi'an

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1917.360

Provenance: To 1917
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi 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. 1300, 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): You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Curatorial Remarks

1. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 7/8/2008) Ceremonial Object added as secondary classification.

2. (Stephen D. Allee, 24 March 2009) As per Jenny So, Jade Project Database, changed Period One "Eastern Zhou dynasty" to "Late Eastern Zhou dynasty"; changed Date from "3rd century B.C.E." to "475-221 B.C.E.". As per Keith Wilson, changed Object Title from "Ritual disk, Bi" to "Disk (bi)"; changed Object Name from "Disk (bi)" to "Ceremonial object". Changed Medium "Jade (nephrite)" to "Jade (?), as no scientific analysis is recorded. Added Measurements (Diam: 14.35 x D: 0.40; Diam. hole: 4.08) as per Christine Lee, Jade Project Database. Added "Warring States period" to Period Two, as per Jenny So, Jade Project Database, and Keith Wilson. Added: "Xi'an, Shaanxi Province" to Geographical Origin.
3. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, April 25, 2022) Material changed from Jade (?) to Jade (nephrite).

Published References: Published References are currently unavailable.

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Disk (bi) with spirals

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