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

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 299.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. Said to have been excavated in Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西. See further, S.I. 1315, Appendix  VIII.

3. (Carl Whiting Bishop, 1922) For discussion of type, see Berthold Laufer, Jade: A Study in Chinese Archaeology and Religion (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1912), p. 187.

4. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Late Chou 周 dynasty. The piece though not of the best workmanship, seems authentic. 

The outer, narrower band has intertwining dragons, a slender rope pattern border separates it from the inner and  wider band of grain pattern in the shape of commas, incised and in low relief. The outer band on reverse has  similar dragon design.

5. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.955. Decomposition prevents more accurate calculation for nephrite.

6. (William B. Trousdale, 1964) Late Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty (?). A difficult piece to date. The object was obviously once a complete perforated disk, possibly of early Chou [Zhou] 周 date, but possibly contemporary with the carving which is rather cruder than one usually finds on such late Chou [Zhou] 周 pieces. (See Alfred Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades from the Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection [Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1952], pls. 70 and 71.) At some later date the disk was cut, perhaps as a result of a break; the band of decoration around the rim was cut through and new borders, interrupting the design, were added. The decor was probably never cut to the depth usual on such pieces, but was more hap hazard work. It is quite worn, possibly as a result of later grinding when the cut was made. The surface of the stone is also pitted. I would consider these to be genuine indications of antiquity and not the result of artificial aging.

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) The attribution is changed from Late Chou [Zhou] 周 Dynasty to Western Han 漢. This pi [bi] 璧 is similar to those found in the tomb of Tou wan [Douwan] 竇綰 (see William Watson, et al, The Genius of China: An Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People's Republic of China Held at the Royal Academy, London, by Permission of the President and Council from 29 September 1973 to 23 January 1974 [London: Times Newspapers, 1973], nos. 143--48), who died in the late 2nd century BCE.

8. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 8, 2008) "Ceremonial Object" added as secondary classification.

9. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, May 6, 2010) Title changed from "Perforated incomplete disk of the type lung [long] 瓏" to  "Disk (long 瓏)"; Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial Object."

10. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 8, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)."

11. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 7, 2023) Title changed from "Disk (long)" to "Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid and masks, reworked"; Geography changed from "China" to "China, purportedly found at Shaanxi"; and added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang.