Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Sanxingdui culture 三星堆 (ca. 2000-ca. 1000 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 2000-1000 BCE

Object Date: ca. 2000-1000 BCE

Medium: Jade (serpentine)

Dimension(s): Diam x D: 30 x 1.5 cm (11 13/16 x 5/8 in) Diam (hole): 6.6 cm (2 9/16 in)

Origin: China, Sichuan Province, but purportedly found at Luoyang, Henan province

Notes: but purportedly found at Luoyang, Henan province

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1919.31

: 璧
新石器時代晚期三星堆文化（公元前2000--1000年）
中國四川，原傳河南洛陽出土
蛇紋石質玉
直徑30、厚1.5釐米；孔徑6.6釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1919.31

Provenance: Reportedly excavated in Loyang, Honan [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. 1410, pg. 332, 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)

Description: Large perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; of slate-colored material completely colored with a chalky coating stained from cream to warm tan; a structural cutting defect on one surface and some unevenness in contour.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Past label text: Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1919.59, F1956.16, F1917.136)
Bi 璧 disk
Neolithic period, Sanxingdui 三星堆 culture, ca. 2000–1000 BCE
Serpentine

Ancient burial sites dateable to the later Neolithic period and early Bronze Age contain far fewer bi 璧 than did Liangzhu 良渚 tombs, but centers such as Qijia 齊家 in northwest China, Sanxingdui 三星堆 in Sichuan 四川 province, and Anyang 安陽 in the central plain show the continued practice of making and burying jade disks with the deceased. Signs of the disk’s adoption by diverse peoples are the variations in scale of bi 璧; the way the central holes were drilled from one side only (rather than from both sides, as was done by the Liangzhu 良渚); and the use of locally available stone.

Here, the outer “skin” of the original nephrite boulder can still be seen around the largest bi 璧 from the Neolithic Qijia 齊家 culture (F1956.16). The two whitish disks (F1919.59, F1919.31) are of serpentine, a much softer stone used in Sichuan 四川 province to the far southwest. The diminutive size of the smallest bi 璧 (F1917.136) may suggest the original purpose of these disks had been forgotten by the early Bronze Age.

2. (Keith Wilson, "Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades," Gallery 19, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 14, 2017 to Apr 15, 2018)

Sanxingdui culture bi
Southwest China, Sichuan province, ca. 2000–1000 BCE
Serpentine
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1919.31

From Weapons to Emblems
These tools and weapons look like real axes (fu), halberds (ge), and other practical items, but in fact they are purely symbols of power. Made of brittle jade with a remarkably thin edge, the items were intended only for display.

The custom of making ceremonial jades that look like familiar objects continued well after the Neolithic period. The thin, forked blades at the top and the halberds below them are not found in Liangzhu burials. They instead represent innovations associated with later cultures to the north, west, and southwest.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪 of Shanghai 上海, in New York. Said to have been excavated in Loyang [Luoyang] 洛陽, Honan [Henan] 河南. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 332. $200.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Han 漢. See further, S.I. 1410, Appendix IX.

3. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1945) Ch'ing [Qing] 清 dynasty reproduction of Chou [Zhou] 周 type. The piece is unconvincing and very similar to F1919.59 in treatment, perhaps made by the same hand.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.582.

5. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from Ch'ing [Qing] 清 to Shang 商.

6. (Janet Douglas, September 10, 2002) Serpentine added to Medium. (See Conservation Report.)

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

8. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, July 25, 2008) As per Jenny F. So, Jade Project Database, changed Period One from "Shang 商 dynasty" to "Late Neolithic or Bronze Age"; changed Date from "1600--1050 BCE" to "ca. 2000 BCE," and added "Middle Yangzi 揚子 River region" to Geography/Origin. Also changed Title from "Ritual disk, Bi 璧" to "Disk (bi 璧)," Object Name from "Disk (bi 璧)" to "Ceremonial Objects." Added Description as per Jenny F. So and Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

9. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, June 11, 2010) Deleted "Late Neolithic period or Bronze Age"; added "Sanxingdui 三星堆 culture" to Artist constituent field; changed date from "2000 BCE" to "ca. 1500--1100 BCE"; changed geographical origin from "Middle Yangzi 揚子 River region" to "Sichuan 四川 province."

10. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, December 2, 2010) Date changed from "ca. 2000 BCE" to "ca. 2000--1000 BCE."

11. (Jeffrey Smith, April 14, 2016) Transferred from Description: (Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Opaque dark gray stone completely altered chalky white, now turned cream and tan from handling (?); cf. F1919.59 in appearance and Sp. G. (2.582). Conical hole with circular drill marks on wall. Eroded straight slice mark on one face; uneven surface on other. Wen Guang 聞廣 thinks the material resembles Liangzhu 良渚, but workmanship does not.

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. 78, p. 57, 68.

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