Disk (bi) with knobs, feline and dragon

Historical period(s)
Eastern Han dynasty, 100-220
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 22 x 15.2 x 0.7 cm (8 11/16 x 6 x 1/4 in) Diam (hole): 2.6 cm (1 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1916.155
On View Location
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: disk (bi)

Keywords
China, dragon, Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220)
Provenance

To 1916
Lai-Yuan and Company, New York, to 1916 [1]

From 1916 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Lai-Yuan and Company in 1916 [2]

From 1920
The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 892, pg. 196, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Lai-Yuan & Company (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1915-April 1921

Label

The elaborate openwork design of a dragon in sweeping curves resembling clouds and a feline with a twisted body in profile suggests a narrative and setting that extend beyond pure decoration. Disks such as this, created from pale green nephrite of exceptional quality, are extremely rare and have been found only in royal tombs.

Published References
  • Alfred Salmony. Carved Jade of Ancient China. Berkeley, 1938. pl. 64, no. 1.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 33.
  • Christine Minter-Dowd. Finders' Guide to Decorative Arts in the Smithsonian Institution. Finders' Guide to Work in the Smithsonian Institution Washington, 1983-1984. p. 39.
  • Hai wai i chen [Chinese Art in Overseas Collections]. Taipei, 1985. p. 74.
  • Thomas Lawton. China's Artistic Legacy. vol. 118, no. 258 London, August 1983. p. 135.
  • Thomas Lawton, Linda Merrill. Freer: a legacy of art. Washington and New York, 1993. p. 229, fig. 162.
  • Jessica Rawson. Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing. Exh. cat. London. p. 310, fig. 3.
  • Edwards Park. Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution., 1st ed. Washington and New York. p. 340.
  • Joan Hartman-Goldsmith. Early Chinese Jades at the Freer Gallery. vol. 27, no. 4, Winter 1981-1982. pp. 446-449, fig. 6.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use