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Disc (Bi)
This type of jade disc (bi) was found primarily in burials and buried caches. According to ancient Chinese cosmology, heaven is regarded as a circle and the earth a square. A jade bi thus represented the circular heaven. It was believed that placing these discs on the deceased body would protect it from evil spirits and ghosts and also confer prosperity and security in the afterlife.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1916, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
China (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Diam: 5 3/8 × D: 1 1/4 in. (13.7 × 3.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1916
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
42.317