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AN ARCHAISTIC SERPENTINE NOTCHED DISC, YABI 19th century or earlier (fitted box) image 1
AN ARCHAISTIC SERPENTINE NOTCHED DISC, YABI 19th century or earlier (fitted box) image 2
PROPERTY FROM A CANADIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Lot 167

AN ARCHAISTIC SERPENTINE NOTCHED DISC, YABI
19th century or earlier

Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art including the Francine and Bernard Wald Collection of Fine Snuff Bottles, Part I
17 March 2025, 09:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$21,760 inc. premium

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AN ARCHAISTIC SERPENTINE NOTCHED DISC, YABI

19th century or earlier
Each wedges with a group of six pointed tabs on the ridge, the flat sides taper slightly to the outer edge, on one side a gentle groove remaining from slicing the stone, a pair of paralleled incised lines crossing the edge of the aperture, intersected by a single incised line at an angle, the translucent stone softly polished, with light encrustations in areas.
5 3/4in (14.6cm) diam (fitted box).

Footnotes

十九世紀或更早 仿古蛇紋石牙璧

Provenance:
Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 2 November 1979, lot 52

來源：
紐約蘇富比帕克博耐拍賣行，1979 年 11 月 2 日，拍品編號 52

Qing dynasty connoisseur Wu Dacheng (1835-1902) identified in his publication Guyu tukao the notched jade disc as Xuanji (璿璣) (vol. 2, p. 50a), a mythic, poetic name first recorded in Shang shu (Book of Documents) as xuanji yuheng (璿璣玉衡), a reference interpreted by Han dynasty scholars as an astrological device used in ancient rituals. However, in 20th century archaeological excavations the notched jade discs were often placed together with circular jade discs (bi) on the chest of the deceased in the burial context, therefore the term yabi (toothed disc) was assigned to correctly address function.

A smaller yabi of this type also with the crossed lines to one side is illustrated in Eternal Beauty: from Karamono Tea Ceramics to Bronzeware, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 2012, p. 56, no. 71, described as Western Han.

For a comprehensive discussion of yabi discs excavated in China, see Luan, "Yabi yanjiu (Researches on Yabi)," Wenwu, 2005, No. 7, pp. 69-81.

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