Ritual Disk (Bi) Yale University Art Gallery

3rd–2nd millennium b.c.e.

Found in some of China’s earliest cultures and often placed on or alongside the deceased during burials, circular disks, or bi, originally symbolized the sky revolving around a central axis, referring to the belief that the heavens were divine. Over time, however, such disks became more decorative than symbolic in function.

Medium: Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions: Outer Diameter: 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
Inner Diameter: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of J. Watson Webb, B.A. 1907, and Electra Havemeyer Webb
Accession Number: 1940.160
Geography: China
Culture: Chinese
Period: Neolithic, Liangzhu culture (3200–2200 B.C.E.)
Classification: Ritual Objects
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

J. Watson Webb; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1940

Bibliography

Denise Patry Leidy, "Chinese Jades: Selections from the Yale University Art Gallery," Arts of Asia (May–June 2020), 22, fig. 1

George J. Lee, Selected Far Eastern Art in the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1970), 126, no. 242, ill.

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Technical metadata and APIs

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