A rare and impressive archaic jade cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture 

拍品描述

Chinese Jades from the Ralph Wanger Collection Diameter 3¾ in., 9.6 cm Of superb quality, intricate detailing and magnificent stone, the present cong represents the highest standard of jadework produced by the neolithic Liangzhu culture. While larger cong produced in the greater expanses of the Liangzhu region represent more common and monumental interpretations of the design, it is the small one- to three-tier cong of the present type that truly exemplify the design. Hewn from a glossy ivory-white stone, well-attested in the elite funerary context of Fanshan and Yaoshan in Yuhang, Zhejiang province, the present cong is replete with symbolism and religious significance all but lost to the sands of time. A puzzle left forever unsold, the imposing form of the cong is as enigmatic as it is striking. Most cong, like the present, are essentially composed of a cylindrical interior component and a cuboid exterior, the latter usually broken into tiers of mask designs. While early sites like Fanshan and Yaoshan contain closely related cong of the present form alongside more circular bracelet forms, it is the present design that gradually became normalised in the bracelet’s stead; perhaps as the result of ever more formalized ritual practices. Compare one such early bracelet-form cong of similar stone to the present and likely produced in the same milieu, now preserved in the British Museum, London (accession no. 2022,3034.53) (Fig. 1) included in Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jades from Neolithic to Qing, British Museum, London, 1995, cat. no. 3:1, where the author describes the subtle reliefwork and fine linework of the eyes and nose as “the highest quality found among Liangzhu jades.” The triumph of man over demon or their coexistence appears to have been among the most beloved motifs in early Liangzhu culture. Most famously depicted in the flat design of the large cong uncovered from Tomb No. 12 at Fanshan— illustrated in Gu Fang, The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China, vol. 8: Zhejiang, Beijing, 2005, pp 70-71— this schema is similarly attested on many of the finest early cong including the aforementioned British Museum bracelet. For further examples of this decoration uncovered from the Fanshan site, see a three-tier cong of closely related stone and scroll-like rendering of the mask designs, ibid., p. 76; a two-tier example of greener dappled stone, p. 77; and another of whiter calcified stone, p. 106. While their initial function may have been lost to the sands of time, the visual impact and magnificence of Liangzhu cong have never been forgotten. By the composition of the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) in the Eastern Zhou or Han dynasty, the cong continued to be considered an invaluable part of our relation to the cosmos but reimagined through the formal lens of royal rituals – with a yellow cong used to worship Earth and a green bi to worship heaven, and its mysterious ridges said to be used for wrapping the departed. By the later imperial dynasties, even this religious association had largely given way to a largely aesthetic appreciation of the cong’s magnificent form. From Song dynasty vases produced in ceramic and bronze after the form (see Recasting the Past, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2025, cat. nos 32–45) to an archaic jade cong in the Qing Court misinterpreted by the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) as a carriage pole ornament (see Palace Museum, Beijing, accession no. gu 00103956), the importance and beauty of jade cong like the present have survived millennia even when all else falls away. Examples of this quality and presumably early dating come very seldom to market. Compare a closely related cong from the Peony Collection of very similar color and design, slightly more simply rendered than the present, illustrated in Roger Keverne, ed., Jade, London, 1990, p. 73, fig. 39 and sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 29th May 2018, lot 4; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2018, lot 3080.

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