Object: Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls F1919.24

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: 13.6 cm (5 3/8 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: F1919.24

: 凸面規則谷紋璧
東周戰國時期（公元前475--221年）
中國，傳陝西西安出土
軟玉
直徑、厚0.4釐米；孔徑
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1919.24

Provenance: Reportedly excavated in Xi’an, Shaanxi [1]

Duanfang (1861–1911) [2]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th–early 20th century), Shanghai to 1919 [3]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi in New York, NY, in 1919 [4]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record: “Formerly in the collection of the Viceroy Tuan Fang [Duanfang], and said to have been excavated at Sianfu [Xi’an], Shensi [Shaanxi].”

[2] See note 1.

[3] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1403, p. 329, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[4] See note 3.

[5] 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): Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911)
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪 of Shanghai 上海, in New York. Formerly in the collection of the Viceroy Tuan Fang [Duanfang] 端方, and said to have been excavated at Sianfu [Xi'an] 西安, Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 329.
2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1403, Appendix IX.
3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Late Chou [Zhou] 周 Dynasty. For discussion of type "pi [bi] 璧," see Folder Sheet F1939.14, note 3.
4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.978. Nephrite.
5. (Thomas Lawton, 1973) The following information was carved on the box in which this object arrived: Chou ku pi [Zhou gu bi] 周榖璧. T'ao chai ts'ang yu [Taozhai cang yu] 陶齋藏玉.
6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Late Eastern Chou [Zhou] 周, Warring States period, Ch'ang sha [Changsha] 長沙 style. See F1916.514, F1916.758, F1917.372 and F1917.376.
7. (Thomas Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480--222 B.C. [Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art, 1982], cat. no. 118) Large portions of this disk, of mottled pale green nephrite, have altered and appear whitish. Incised spirals modeled in low relief are bordered with a flat, raised rim. In shape, decoration, and workmanship, this disk is related to another example in the Freer collection (see cat. no. 119, F1919.29). Both pieces are said to have been found in Shensi [Shaanxi] 陝西 Province.
8. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 29, 2008) "Jewelry" and "Ornament" added as secondary classification.
9. (Jeffrey Smith per Matthew Clarke, July 8, 2022) Medium changed from "Jade" to "Jade (nephrite)."
10. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, June 5, 2023) Classification changed from "Jewelry and Ornament" to "Ceremonial Object"; Added Period Two as "Warring States period"; Title changed from "Disk (bi) to "Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls"; changed Date from "4th-3rd century BCE" to "475-221 BCE"; updated the Description field, and added Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang.

Published References

Thomas Lawton. Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C. Washington, 1982-1983. cat. 118, p. 168.

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Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls

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