Jade carving in the shape of archaic Gui tablet and Bi disc, late Ming to Qing dynasty-China Archive

Image Number: K1C002847N000000000PAD
Dynasty: Ming dynasty
Category: Jades
Function: Sacrificial vessels
Material: Minerals/Jade Jewelry/Jade
Description:
Blue and white jade, but most of them are mixed with brown spots. Some of them may have been dyed, and some of them are very dry. It is carved into a “Guibi combination”. The patterns on both sides are similar, from top to bottom: auspicious clouds supporting the sun, mountains, round walls, waves. Only the patterns on the round wall are embossed with two dragons on one side and two phoenixes on the other. These patterns represent the three layers of the universe: heaven, man and earth. In the center of the world, dragons and phoenixes symbolize emperors. It is a popular artistic motif since the Ming Dynasty. The Jade Gui Bi was highly valued by the Emperor Qianlong, with imperial poems engraved on both sides. It was published in Figure 183 of the Ancient Jade Atlas of the Forbidden City published in 1982. In this book, it is set as Han Dynasty.