† ONE OF THE LARGEST EVER FOUND JADE DISKS, BI, QIJIA CULTURE, 74 CM DIAMETER

Expert’s note: The present bi disk is quite possibly the largest ever found, dwarfing any example recorded in private and public collections, with the largest comparable disks seldomly exceeding even 40 cm and most ranging between 10 and 20 cm.

Expert authentication:
1. Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and guarantees its authenticity and the dating above. He assessed it as a piece of notably good quality. A copy of Dr. Gu’s signed and notarized expertise, dated 25 July 2008, accompanies this lot.
Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012).
2. Sam Myers has examined the present lot in 2017 and confirmed its authenticity and the dating above. He appraised it at a value of USD 90,000 (or approx. EUR 100,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A copy of the valuation from Myrna Myers Arts d’Extrême Orient, Paris, written and signed by Sam Myers, dated 5 May 2017, accompanies this lot.
Sam Myers is a scholar and expert of Chinese jades and works of art with over 50 years of experience. In 1976, his wife Myrna Myers opened a gallery in Paris, specializing in Asian art, and together the couple built an extraordinary art collection, including one of the world’s most distinguished jade collections, published in numerous catalogs and seen around the world in a number of important museum exhibitions.

China, 2200-1900 BC. Of circular form, with a centrally drilled aperture. The finely polished, mostly opaque stone of a beautifully mottled dark green tone with veining and patches of near black, sage, moss, olive, and white, forming vivid cloud-like patterns evocative of a raging thunderstorm.

Provenance: Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, United States, by 2008. Collection of Lord Anthony Jacobs, London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. Collection of Marla M. Kosec, London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. Lord Anthony Jacobs (1931-2014) was a distinguished British businessman, politician, and philanthropist best known for his leadership of enterprises such as BSM driving schools and the Spudulike restaurant chain. From 1999 to 2002 he sat on the House of Lords Works of Art Committee, reflecting his deep engagement with the arts while building a notable collection over his lifetime. Marla M. Kosec (born 1956) is an American medical professional entrepreneur, philanthropist, and devoted collector whose life has been shaped by decades of travel, service to others, and enduring friendships formed in China, Indonesia, and England. Over 18 years, she assembled a deeply personal collection of Buddhist art and Chinese jades, which she views not as possessions but as living companions.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, signs of prolonged burial and traces of weathering with associated small losses, minor nibbling, small chips, and shallow fissures.

Weight: 13.5 kg
Dimensions: Diameter 74 cm

The present disk belongs to the Qijia Culture of Gansu, as indicated by its undecorated surface, the quality of the stone, and the proportionally small central aperture. Before the 1980s, the Qijia culture was virtually unknown to scholars. No excavation reports or related archaeological data existed to account for this culture. Only recently, with the 2005 publication of the 15 volume study, The Complete Set of Unearthed Chinese Jades, edited by Gu Fang, was this culture brought to the attention of scholars. By the time the Qijia people carved this disk, jade had already been exploited by various Neolithic cultures for several millennia, including the closely related plain ritual disks associated with the Liangzhu culture of the Yangtze River Delta (late 4th to late 3rd millennium BC). The Qijia jade bi and cong are generally of larger size than those of the Liangzhu and they more consistently display a lack of any decoration, which contributes to the sense that these jade artifacts were important for symbolic and ritual purposes.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related smaller jade bi disk, attributed to the Qijia Culture, 46 cm diameter, in the Freer Gallery of Art, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1956.16, where it is described as the “largest disk in the collection, and among the largest known.”

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 18 March 2009, lot 277
Price: USD 194,500 or approx. EUR 250,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A very rare and unusually large dark green jade bi, Late Neolithic period, Northwest China, circa 2000 BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, stone, and manner of carving. Note the much smaller size (34.1 cm)

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 November 2022, lot 3
Price: HKD 1,326,000 or approx. EUR 153,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large green jade circular disc, bi, Neolithic Period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, stone, and manner of carving. Note the much smaller size (33.5 cm)