A GRAY AND BROWN JADE BI DISK, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY

A GRAY AND BROWN JADE BI DISK, WESTERN HAN DYNASTY China, 206 BC-9 AD. Each side finely carved in low relief with a raised circular bosses neatly arranged within narrow plain borders encircling the rim and enclosing the central aperture. The translucent stone of a pale gray tone with brown patches, russet veining, and cloudy inclusions. Provenance: The present lot was part of an important collection of archaic Chinese bronzes, built by three generations of the Chasseloupe-Laubat family in France. Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat (1805-1873), was a prominent aristocrat, politician, and art collector who became Minister of the French Navy and the Colonies under Napoleon III, traveling extensively through all of Asia. His son Louis (1863-1954), an engineer in ship design, significantly expanded the family collection, also during his frequent travels throughout Asia. François (1904-1968), Prosper’s grandson, eventually inherited the family passion and became a renowned explorer and participant in the Hoggar Expedition. He was the first French explorer to reach English Malaysia, bringing back previously unpublished documents on the isolated Sakai tribes. As a collector, François Chasseloupe-Laubat was advised by Jean Claude Moreau-Gobard, an important French collector and dealer specializing in Asian art. Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, natural fissures and inclusions, signs of weathering and erosion, minor nibbling, few tiny nicks. French Export License: Certificat d’exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 243196 dated 3 October 2023 has been granted and a copy is accompanying this lot. Weight: 36.4 g Dimensions: Diameter 6.6 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related bi disk with similar circular bosses, 13.8 cm in diameter, dated to the Western Han dynasty, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 50.145.141. Compare a related jade bi, dated to the Han dynasty, in the Simon Kwan Collection, illustrated by Roger Keverne, Jade, London, 2000, fig 8.