Ritual Disc (Bi)

This disc, one of the most famous Chinese jade carvings in existence, is said to have come from royal tombs in the vicinity of the Zhou capital at Luoyang. The piece is astonishingly thinly sliced, yet the dragons possesses a three-dimensionality and vitality that belie the intractable material from which they were carved. Perforated discs known as bi were said to have been used in the worship of heaven, but it is likely that this piece was valued as much for its beauty as for any ritual role it possessed.