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Catalog Data

Medium:
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions:
Diam x D: 31.8 x 1.4 cm (12 1/2 x 9/16 in)
Diam (hole): 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in)
H x W (inscription): 4.8 × 1.9 cm (1 7/8 × 3/4 in)
Culture:
Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE  Search this
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
Lake Tai region, China
Date:
ca. 3300-2250 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Very large perforated disk of the type pi [bi] 璧; bored from both sides, leaving median ridge; mottled dark and light greens, golden tan, and brown; cream-colored cloudings and white veins of decomposition on obverse, profuse on reverse; decoration: light incised device. (Break and chip on rim.)
Provenance:
To 1917
Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]
From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, 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. 1166, pg. 268, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.
[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.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
Chinese Bronze, Jade, Metalwork (March 1, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 14 and 15 (February 25, 1956 to March 1, 1957)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Jade and Bronze (August 26, 1955 to October 25, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1946 (May 7, 1946 to February 25, 1956)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1945 (January 9, 1945 to August 20, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1944 (December 13, 1944 to May 7, 1946)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
Previous custodian or owner:
Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Topic:
jade  Search this
nephrite  Search this
bird  Search this
inscription  Search this
Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)  Search this
China  Search this
Chinese Art  Search this
Charles Lang Freer collection  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number:
F1917.79
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
On View:
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
Jades for Life and Death
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3b1a07b37-fda2-4366-ad71-fdd3d4cbe4ed
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_F1917.79