J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York

The simple form of this type of ancient jade, found in burials ranging over a wide area and over a long time span within the archaic period, sometimes leads to imprecise dating, but the very distinctive stone, polish and patination seen in the present example are uniquely characteristic of the jade collared discs found at Dian Culture sites in Yunnan. Compare, for example, the two jade collared discs excavated in 1956 at Shizhaishan, Jinning, Yunnan province, exhibited in the travelling exhibition organized by the Rietberg Museum Zurich and illustrated by Lutz, Dian Ein Versunkenes Königreich in China, Zurich, 1986, p. 105, no. 54.

Compare three collared discs of this distinctive color excavated in Yunnan, illustrated by Gu (ed.), Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji (Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China), Vol. 12, Yunnan, Guizhou, Xizang, Beijing, 2005, pp. 42 and 62, described as Western Han dynasty.

The collared disc is an ancient Chinese jade form with origins which may be traced back to the Neolithic period, and many well-finished examples of widely varying form and size have been discovered in Shang dynasty tombs. Several collared discs of different sizes and shapes found in the tomb of Fu Hao (d. circa 1200 B.C.), are illustrated in Yinxu Fu Hao mu (Tomb of Lady Hao at Yinxu in Anyang), Beijing, 1980, pls. 87-94, including one which is very similar to the present example in form and size in pl. 89, no. 1.