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

Compare the Liangzhu bi disc of slightly larger size unearthed from the Xin’anqiao site, Deqing, Zhejiang province, now in the Deqing Museum, illustrated by Gu (ed.), Zhongguo chutu yuqi quanji (Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China), Vol. 8, Zhejiang, Beijing, 2005, p. 39. Another similar Neolithic jade bi disc of smaller size is illustrated by Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1975, p. 37, no. 7.

The bi disc was an essential element of Liangzhu burial rituals. Important Liangzhu burials often contain several bi of various sizes including very large examples. Archaeological reports indicate that the majority of the bi discs found in a tomb are roughly cut and unevenly ground, with only one or two examples in each burial showing the finely finished details and highly polished surface of the present example which would require a high degree of skill and much greater time and effort to produce.