WESTERN ZHOU DYNASTY (1100-771 BC)

Rings and bi discs with notched flanges known as yahuan and yabi, respectively, were types of jade carvings more often associated with the Longshan Culture (C. 2500-2000 BC), and it is rare to find an example dating to the Western Zhou dynasty. The present yahuan is only carved with decoration on one side but plain on the other, thus it is possible that it was a part of a whole and could have been affixed to another element. It is also possible that the present yahuan was worn as a pendant through the circular aperture. A similar yahuan dated to the early Western Zhou dynasty, is illustrated in Archaic Chinese Jades from the Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection, Chicago, 1952, pp. 94-5, no. 1.