This bi disc is cut from openwork-carved jade, the stone the Chinese court valued above every other because it could be worked but never rushed. Jade does not bend; the carver removes everything that is not the object.
The dragon cut is the point. Jade carving rewards a sure hand and punishes a second thought, so the bi disc reads as a single decision rather than a sequence of them.
Jade carried the moral vocabulary of the Chinese court, the stone against which character itself was measured.
A bi disc like this was made to outlast its owner by centuries, and it has. The openwork-carved jade still carries the chill it had when it left the Imperial dynasty bench.
Object details
| Name | Jade carvings with dragons and dragons (玉镂雕螭龙合璧) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00226084 |
| 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.