Mottled Bai Bi Disc

With its speckled cream color and perfectly round form, this stone disc has a certain celestial quality, like a full moon gleaming in the night sky. Known as “bi,” these round discs with a circular hole in the center date all the way back to the Neolithic era. Found in the tombs of ancient Chinese emperors and aristocrats, bi discs have a mysterious and spiritual history, and their function and significance remain unknown. Shaping hardstone takes considerable skill. An artisan patiently rubs the surface with sand to give the stone its soft, satiny appearance, a subtle glow completely different from the polished gloss of machine-finished stone. This contemporary bai bi disc is made especially striking mounted on a dark custom steel stand.