Rare Disque archaïque cranté en jade, Xuanji Période Néolithique - Dynastie Shang, ca. 2000-1500 avant J.-C.

les bords extérieurs sculptés de trois crans formant trois arcs de taille égale, ponctués de crêtes dentées et se terminant en une pointe légèrement arquée, le centre percé d'une large ouverture à bord concave, les côtés s'affinant vers le bord extérieur, la pierre de couleur vert olive à taches jaunes et brunes rehaussée d'une large marque trapézoïdale vert foncé au milieu

Acquired in Beijing, October 1943 (according to Max Loehr's notes).
Collection of Prof. Max Loehr (1903-1988).
J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 1993.

Early Chinese Jades. A Loan Exhibition Presented by the Museum of Art, University of Michigan, Alumni Memorial Hall, Ann Arbor, March 22 through April 22, 1953, no. 13.
Chinese Archaic Jades and Bronzes from the Estate of Professor Max Loehr and Others, J. J. Lally & Co., New York, 1993, no. 24.

Max Loehr, Early Chinese Jades. A Loan Exhibition Presented by the Museum of Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1953, cat. no. 13, and illustrated on the cover.
J. J. Lally & Co., Chinese Archaic Jades and Bronzes from the Estate of Professor Max Loehr and Others, New York, 1993, cat. no. 24.

There are two ca. 0.5cm old shallow chips to the edge of the disc and a small old shallow chip to one of the tips of the notches. The surface is smoothly polished, there is some light overall scratching on one side. The colour of the jade is of a darker, more saturated tone than the catalogue illustration suggests.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Discs feature prominently among jade artifacts recovered from sites of the Neolithic Period to the Han dynasty. Among them, notched discs such as the present example, form a small but distinctive group. Defined by the deep notches that divide the circumference into segments, the earliest examples have been found in late Neolithic sites in eastern and western China. For an overview of notched discs, see Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade. From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 160-162.

The beautifully finished present disc is comparable to other notched discs of similar size in Western collections formed in the 1930s and 1940. Compare, for example, two discs from the Winthrop Collection, illustrated in Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1972, nos. 106 and 107, and a very similar notched disc of light green coloured jade from the Sonnenschein Collection, listed in Alfred Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades from the Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection, Chicago, 1952, pl. XXXI.2.