Disk with Animal Masks and Mat Design (Translation)
獸面蒲格穀紋玉璧 戰國晚期 (Primary Title)
Annular "Bi" Disk (Former Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Carved with iron tools, this green jade disk is decorated on both sides with intricate designs within two concentric zones. The outer zone is engraved with four mythological beasts, each with a double intertwined body, as cardinal creatures to ward away evil spirits. In the inner zone, tiny dots, referred to as grains, are engraved against a woven mat pattern, symbolizing harvest and comfort. By the Warring States period, the bi disk had evolved from a sacrificial object for worship of heaven to an object for ritual and burials. An almost identical disk was excavated in 1977 from a tomb in Qufu, Shandong Province, suggesting a date of the late Warring states period
Warring States period (475-221 BC)
None
Gift of John C. Maxwell, Jr. and Adrienne L. Maxwell
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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