The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Ceremonial Disc (Bi)

Ceremonial Disc (Bi)

3300–2200 BCE
Diameter: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); Overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); Inner diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

The Liangzhu culture, one of the later Neolithic cultures of East China, excelled in jade working. Exceptionally large versions like this disc are rare and usually occupied pride of place on the chest of the buried. Traditionally called bi, these plain discs, together with cong, squared cylinders, form an essential ritual pair in Liangzhu burials of high-status individuals.
  • Ralph King
  • Wilson, J. Keith. "Lithic Art in the Bronze Age: A Jade Dagger-Axe." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 1 (1990): 2-35. Reproduced: back cover; Mentioned: p. 3-4, 31 www.jstor.org
    Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. “New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland’s Recent Chinese Acquisitions.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 8 (October 1994): 270–347. cat. no. 3, p. 346 www.jstor.org
  • China's Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).
  • {{cite web|title=Ceremonial Disc (Bi)|url=false|author=|year=3300–2200 BCE|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1917.974