A RARE OPAQUE IVORY-WHITE JADE DISK, BI, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Published: Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Paris, 2016, p. 45, no. 54.

Exhibited: 
1. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Montréal, 17th November 2016-19th March 2017.
2. Kimbell Art Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 4th March-19th August 2018.

China, c. 3300-2200 BC. Of circular form, the thick disk with a central aperture drilled from both sides, the inner walls and outer edge finely polished as are the two faces of the disk, the stone now opaque and of an ivory-white color with dark veins and specks as well as hints of pale grayish-green.

Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012.
Condition: Good condition with wear, signs of prolonged burial, traces of weathering, minor chips, smoothened losses, the calcified stone with natural veins and fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 417 g
Dimensions: Diameter 16 cm

Expert’s note: The stone of this jade has undergone complete alteration, a hallmark of Liangzhu culture jades. Over millennia, burial in mineral-rich soil has resulted in the calcified, chalky surface seen here, an aesthetic and material transformation prized by collectors and scholars alike. Despite the calcification, traces of the original fine polish remain visible on the surface, suggesting that the jade was highly finished before burial. The combination of altered material and surviving polish is typical for Liangzhu ritual jades.

Bi disks, 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 disks 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 disks were displayed and used in a ritual context. The hole is usually drilled from one side only: on larger disks, it is smoothed down and the traces of the tool marks are almost invisible.

Jade disks 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 a pictorial representation of three such disks 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 disks.

Literature comparison:
Compare two closely related Liangzhu jade bi disks, 14.9 and 17.2 cm diameter, both formerly in the collection of Charles Lang Freer and now in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Insitution, accession numbers F1918.28 and F1916.507. Compare a related ivory-white Liangzhu jade bi disk, dated to 3300-2200 BC, 11.7 cm diameter, formerly in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung and now in the British Museum, registration number 2022,3034.42.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 25 September 2020, lot 1723
Price: USD 11,875 or approx. EUR 13,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An opaque ivory-colored jade bi disc, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, 3rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and stone. Note the related size (14.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 18 March 2009, lot 284
Price: USD 104,500 or approx. EUR 135,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare opaque taupe and russet jade bi, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, 3rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, stone, and size (15.5 cm).