2. M5010

Natural mottling and two possible edge knocks.

• Sold by Christie’s London in their auction of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 20^th/21^st June 1984, The Property of a Collector, lot 540, p. 210.
• Two similar bi’s dated to the Spring and Autumn period are illustrated by Jia E in Complete Collection of Chinese Jade, Chunqiu and Zhanguo, vol. 3, nos. 132 & 30, pp. 81 & 18; another dated to the Han dynasty is illustrated by Wang Qinglu in Guyu Jing Hua, A Selection of Finest Old Jades, no. 154, p. 90; another dated Spring and Autumn is illustrated by Yang Lijuan in The Deep Affection for Jade, no. 43, pp. 96/7; a slightly larger example dated to the Eastern Zhou period in the British Museum with tighter double C-scrolls is illustrated by Jessica Rawson in Chinese Jades from the Neolithic to the Qing, no. 17:2, p. 264.
• The C-scroll design was first popular at the beginning of the Spring and Autumn period, 771 BCE-476 BCE and continued as a design through the Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE. It can be read as masks and occasionally has a dragon hidden in the design.