Page 40 - JJ Lally Ancient Chinese Jades, 1988

27. A N eolithic White Jade Bracelet ( Zhuo )
Liangzhu Culture, circa 3300–2250 B.C.
with square-angled flat sides of irregular outline enclosing a wide circular aperture, the stone of
milk white tone.
Diameter 3¾ inches (9.5 cm)

Ex J.J. Lally & Co., 1993 catalogue no. 12
A similar jade bracelet unearthed from M8 at the Liangzhu site at Yaoshan, Yuhang district, Hangzhou city, Zhejiang
province, is illustrated in Yao kun meiyu: Liangzhu bowuyuan cang Liangzhu wenhua yuqi jingcui (Beautiful Jade: Selected
Liangzhu Jades from the Collection of the Liangzhu Museum), Beijing, 2011, p. 291, no. 171.

อͩኜࣛ˾cԄଃ͗᚞cࢰ 9.5᩶Ϸc
Ը๕cᔝଣઠ 1993त࢝ྡ፽ୋ 12໮

28. A N eolithic Cloudy Gray-Green Jade Disc ( Bi )
Liangzhu Culture, circa 3300–2250 B.C.

with thick sides and squared flat outer edge, smoothly polished all over, the small central aperture
drilled from both sides and with a narrow crescent-shaped ledge remaining in the middle, the
cloudy gray-green stone with darker green mottling throughout.
Diameter 4 ⁄8 inches (12.2 cm)
7
Ex J.J. Lally & Co., 1994 catalogue no. 18

Compare the Liangzhu bi disc of slightly larger size unearthed from the Xin’anqiao site, Deqing, Zhejiang province, now in
the Deqing Museum, illustrated by Gu (ed.), Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji (Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China),
Vol. 8, Zhejiang, Beijing, 2005, p. 39. Another similar Neolithic jade bi disc of smaller size is illustrated by Loehr, Ancient
Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1975, p. 37,
no. 7.
The bi disc was an essential element of Liangzhu burial rituals. Important Liangzhu burials often contain several bi of
various sizes including very large examples. Archaeological reports indicate that the majority if the bi discs found in a tomb
are roughly cut and unevenly ground, with only one or two examples in each burial showing the finely finished details and
highly polished surface of the present example which would require a high degree of skill and much greater time and effort
to produce.

อͩኜࣛ˾cԄଃ͗ᓴcࢰ 12.2᩶Ϸc

Ը๕cᔝଣઠ 1994त࢝ྡ፽ୋ 18໮

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