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Ceremonial Disc (Bi)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The Liangzhu culture, one of the later Neolithic cultures of East China, excelled in jade working. Exceptionally large versions like this disc are rare and usually occupied pride of place on the chest of the buried. Traditionally called bi , these plain discs, together with cong , squared cylinders, form an essential ritual pair in Liangzhu burials of high-status individuals.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCeremonial Disc (Bi) (玉璧), 3300–2200 BCE. East China, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture (3300–2200 BCE). Jade (nephrite); diameter: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); overall: 1 cm (3/8 in.); inner diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Worcester R. Warner Collection, 1917.974
