The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Ceremonial Disc (Bi)

3300–2200 BCE

East China, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture

(3300–2200 BCE)
jade (nephrite)
Diameter: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); Overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); Inner diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.)
Worcester R. Warner Collection 1917.974
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 [1855–1926], Cleveland Heights, OH
    ?–1917
    Worcester R. Warner [1846–1929], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1917–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wilson, J. Keith. "Lithic Art in the Bronze Age: A Jade Dagger-Axe." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 1 (January 1990): 2–35. Reproduced: back cover; Mentioned: pp. 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. Mentioned: cat. no. 3, p. 346 www.jstor.org
    Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa Von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 94–95, no. 2
  • 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=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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