Period:Unknown Production date:2500BC
Materials:jade
Technique:carved
Dimensions:Diameter: 4.60 inches
Description:
Amber-colour jade ‘bi’.
IMG
Comments:Rawson 1992:The purposes of these jade carvings are unknown, although they are thought to have had a ceremonial and possibly also a protective function. They have been found in large numbers in burials of the Liangzhu culture (c. 2500 BC). The Liangzhu peoples inherited skills and traditions from the Dawenkou and Hongshan peoples and they used two distinct types of ritual jade: a disc later known as a ‘bi’ and a tube of square cross-section pierced with a circular hole, later known as ‘cong’. In some cases they were made of serpentine.Once bronze casting developed, jades were less in evidence. However, although their original purposes were probably forgotten, ‘bi’ and ‘cong’ survived. See also BM 1884.0405.1, BM OA+ 110, BM 1945.1017.139, BM 1945.1017.157, BM 1937.0416.142 and BM 1937.0416.183.
Materials:jade
Technique:carved
Dimensions:Diameter: 4.60 inches
Description:
Amber-colour jade ‘bi’.
IMG
Comments:Rawson 1992:The purposes of these jade carvings are unknown, although they are thought to have had a ceremonial and possibly also a protective function. They have been found in large numbers in burials of the Liangzhu culture (c. 2500 BC). The Liangzhu peoples inherited skills and traditions from the Dawenkou and Hongshan peoples and they used two distinct types of ritual jade: a disc later known as a ‘bi’ and a tube of square cross-section pierced with a circular hole, later known as ‘cong’. In some cases they were made of serpentine.Once bronze casting developed, jades were less in evidence. However, although their original purposes were probably forgotten, ‘bi’ and ‘cong’ survived. See also BM 1884.0405.1, BM OA+ 110, BM 1945.1017.139, BM 1945.1017.157, BM 1937.0416.142 and BM 1937.0416.183.
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