Ritual ImplementsChinese4th-3rd millennium BCE

Jade 'Bi' Disk

c. 3300 - c. 2000 BCE

Classification

Ritual Implements

Medium

Cream-colored nephrite with light brown markings and a dark brown area at the edge

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BCE

Century

4th-3rd millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

Diam. 13.8 x Thickness 1.2 cm (5 7/16 x 1/2 in.) Weight 373 g

Provenance

Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Related Artworks

Ritual Implements

Miniature Bow (Part of a Buddhist Monk's Kit of 9 Implements)

Unknown Artist, 19th century

Bow: bronze and string

19th centuryTibetan

Ritual Implements

Jade 'Cong'

Unknown Artist, c. 1100 - 771 BCE

Sea-green translucent nephrite with brownish clouds and dark brown veins

11th-8th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Ge-halberd Blade with Geometric Design and Inscription

Unknown Artist, Early 2nd millennium (c. 1700–1500) BCE (blade); late Shang period (c. 1100–1050) BCE (inscription)

Opaque ivory-white nephrite altered to chalky white with red cinnabar accretions

18th-16th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Ritual Bell (Bo zhong) with Stylized Dragon and 'Taotie' Decor and with Handle in the Form of Confronting Dragons

Unknown Artist, 475 BCE - 221 BCE

Cast bronze with greenish patina

5th-3rd century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Long Jade Hook Terminating in Dragon Heads

Unknown Artist, 3rd-2nd century BCE (?)

Whitish translucent nephrite with a few brown markings

3rd-2nd century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Large Jade Trapezoidal Knife with Dentations

Unknown Artist, c. 2500- c. 2000 BCE

Dark gray-green stone with black areas and light markings

3rd millennium BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Finial for a Buddhist Monk's Staff

Unknown Artist, probably 17th century

Steel

17th centuryTibetan

Ritual Implements

Jade Handle, Partly Reworked

Unknown Artist, c. 1100 - 771 BCE

Creamy gray-green and green nephrite

11th-8th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Dragon Silhouette

Unknown Artist, 4th century BCE

Highly polished, faintly translucent, cream-colored and gray-green nephrite

4th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

CARVING(KNEELING TURTLE WITH LONG NECK)RE-CUT OF L ATER PERIOD, NOT MODERN

Unknown Artist

Stone

Chinese

Ritual Implements

Large Jade Dagger-Axe

Unknown Artist, 16th-14th century BCE

Opaque, light greyish brown stone with black veins, resembling old wood

16th-14th century BCEChinese

Ritual Implements

Jade Pig (one of a pair)

Unknown Artist, 25 CE - 220 CE

Mottled brownish stone with glossy, polished surfaces

1st-3rd century CEChinese