The bi disc is a study in patience. Openwork-carved jade holds a polish no metal keeps, and the Imperial workshop used that slow shine to signal rank and restraint at once.
A bi disc in openwork-carved jade was never merely pretty. In a culture that called its rulers’ virtue ‘jade-like’, the stone was a standard as much as a material.
The Imperial taste for openwork-carved jade favoured objects that could be held and turned, read in the palm as much as on the shelf. A bi disc was a private argument about refinement.
Jade is the slowest possible reply to fashion. This bi disc is Sinocra’s reason for keeping the craft in view, with more from The Palace Museum in the shop.
Object details
| Name | Jade carved with grain pattern “Changle” jade (玉镂雕谷纹“长乐”璧) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00095732 |
| Technique | Openwork-carved jade (镂雕) |
| Period | Imperial dynasty |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum Digital Collection.