China. Of circular form with a central aperture drilled from both sides to form an encircling ridge. The opaque stone has a deep green color with russet, black, and gray inclusions and patches of creamy calcification.

Provenance: From the private collection of a renowned New York photographer and his wife: he, the son of a New York gallerist and Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in the Pacific during World War II; she, the daughter of a prominent Chinese family that migrated to the United States in the 1990s.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, some nicks and chips which have smoothened over time. The stone with natural inclusions and fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 1,549 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Diameter 21.7 cm

Mounted on a metal wire stand, fitted for wall suspension, dating from the second half of the 20^th century. (2)

Bi discs in general are a type of jade which continued to be crafted in numbers by cultures located in central and northwest China during the transitional period between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The majority of these discs range in size between ten and twenty centimeters, and larger ones are rare. Their size and weight, requiring both hands to hold them, suggest that these imposing discs were displayed and used in a ritual context. The hole is usually drilled from one side only: on larger discs, it is smoothed down and the traces of the tool marks are almost invisible.

Jade discs such as the current example have been thought to symbolize a connection between heaven and earth. This hypothesis has been solidified by the large number of examples found in ancient tombs of Chinese elite dating from the Neolithic to the Han Dynasty, also underscoring their significance as objects deemed important enough to accompany one to the afterlife. The Chinese character for jade, "玉" (yù), is even a pictural representation of three such discs suspended on a cord, an image that is also found in the Chinese character for king, "王" (wáng), which further emphasizes the precious nature and cultural significance of such discs.

Jean M. Green discusses the theory that “[…] the class of objects known as a discoidal spindle whorl and the bi are linked formally, historically, and contextually”, see Unraveling the Enigma of the Bi: The Spindle Whorl as the Model of the Ritual Disk, Asian Perspectives, vol. 32, no. 1, 1993, p. 105-124. The spindle whorl allowed early humans to twist loose fibers into yarn or thread, a crucial invention for the development of civilization and trade. For a complete jade spindle whorl, 4.3 cm diameter, dated to the early second period of the Liangzhu culture, see ibid., p. 107, pl. III.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2021, lot 702
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 26,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large mottled green jade bi disc, Southeast China, Neolithic period, 3^rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and color of the stone. Note the related size (22.9 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2015, lot 480
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled ivory-toned and olive-green hardstone Bi disc, southeast China, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, 3^rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and color of the stone. Note the related size (18.3 cm).