Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period or early Bronze Age, ca. 1600-1050 BCE

Object Date: ca. 1600-1050 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 14.1 x 0.9 cm (5 9/16 x 3/8 in)

Origin: China, purportedly found at Anxi, Zhejiang province

Notes: purportedly found at Anxi, Zhejiang province

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1919.30

: 璧
新石器時代晚期或青銅時代早期（公元前2000--1050年）
中國，傳浙江安溪出土
軟玉
直徑14.1、厚0.9釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1919.30

Provenance: Reportedly excavated in An-hsi, Chekiang [1]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1919 [2]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1919 [3]

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

Notes:

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

[2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1409, pg. 331, 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)
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; conical perforation bored mostly from one side; obverse of deep olive green shading to lighter tones mottled with brown, reverse of closely mottled olive greens and medium to dark browns; satin smooth surfaces. (Rim and perforation slightly chipped.)

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Past label text: 1. Ancient Chinese Jade, September 4, 1980–March 6, 1981; by Julia K. Murray (shown with F1917.83, F1917.354, F1918.25, F1917.350, F1919.19, F1919.85, F1917.347, F1918.28, F1916.380, F1916.505; additional disks of later periods shown in same case)

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪 of Shanghai 上海. Said to have been excavated at An hsi [Anxi] 安溪, Chekiang [Zhejiang] 浙江. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 331. $80.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1409, Appendix IX.

3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.928.

5. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.

6. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from Chou [Zhou] 周 to Shang 商.

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

8. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Object name changed from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial Objects."

9. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, April 14, 2016) Period changed from Shang dynasty to Late Neolithic period or early Bronze Age.

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
You Xiaoxi. Description of antique Chinese paintings and brass wares as well as of porcelains of different ages, The Charles Lang Freer papers., 1919. No. 77, p. 56, 67.

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Disk (bi 璧)

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