Period:Unknown Production date:2500BC (circa)
Materials:jade
Technique:ground, polished,
Dimensions:Height: 49.50 centimetres
Description:
Tall jade ‘cong’, divided into 19 sections. The upper and lower collars are square in cross-section with rounded corners, diminishing steadily from top to bottom. The two collars are subtly shaped, so that they taper outwards. Each section presents a face at each of the four corners; the ridges representing both the headbands and the nose. The eyes are less visible. Pierced with a circular hole. Made of jade (green). This is one of the tallest surviving cong.
IMG
![图片[1]-cong BM-1937-0416.188-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00023366_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-cong BM-1937-0416.188-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00023368_001.jpg)
![图片[3]-cong BM-1937-0416.188-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00030567_001.jpg)
![图片[4]-cong BM-1937-0416.188-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00507214_001.jpg)
![图片[5]-cong BM-1937-0416.188-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_RRC10219.jpg)
Comments:Rawson 1995:This ‘cong’ belongs to the category of larger ‘cong’ fully displayed in tomb M3 at Jiangsu Wujin Sidun. Although large ‘cong’ are abundant in this tomb, fourteen of the thrirty two found there are over 20 cm in height. Very few tombs with such an abundance of ‘cong’ have come to light. Large ‘cong’ must have been known as early as the Song period, when they were copied in Longquan celadon and Guan ware. A similar piece belongs to Sir Joseph Hotung’s collection, on display at the Jade Gallery in the British Museum. There are a number of relatively tall ‘cong’ in museums in Asia and in the West; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in the major collections in the United States, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Winthrop Collection at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, and the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Michaelson 2006:The ‘cong’ are often found aligning the body in the grave, but as there is no writing from this period we don’t know precisely what functions these jades may have had. The corners of the Liangzhu ‘cong’ are decorated with faces. Two types of face are found, one of which can be quite detailed. On these tall ‘cong’, however, the faces are very sketchily drawn, using circles and bars (as shown in the drawing) to suggest facial features. Jade cannot be carved but must be abraded and it would have taken a craftsman many months, if not longer, to work this jade – emphasizing how special its purpose must have been.
Materials:jade
Technique:ground, polished,
Dimensions:Height: 49.50 centimetres
Description:
Tall jade ‘cong’, divided into 19 sections. The upper and lower collars are square in cross-section with rounded corners, diminishing steadily from top to bottom. The two collars are subtly shaped, so that they taper outwards. Each section presents a face at each of the four corners; the ridges representing both the headbands and the nose. The eyes are less visible. Pierced with a circular hole. Made of jade (green). This is one of the tallest surviving cong.
IMG
Comments:Rawson 1995:This ‘cong’ belongs to the category of larger ‘cong’ fully displayed in tomb M3 at Jiangsu Wujin Sidun. Although large ‘cong’ are abundant in this tomb, fourteen of the thrirty two found there are over 20 cm in height. Very few tombs with such an abundance of ‘cong’ have come to light. Large ‘cong’ must have been known as early as the Song period, when they were copied in Longquan celadon and Guan ware. A similar piece belongs to Sir Joseph Hotung’s collection, on display at the Jade Gallery in the British Museum. There are a number of relatively tall ‘cong’ in museums in Asia and in the West; the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in the major collections in the United States, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Winthrop Collection at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, and the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Michaelson 2006:The ‘cong’ are often found aligning the body in the grave, but as there is no writing from this period we don’t know precisely what functions these jades may have had. The corners of the Liangzhu ‘cong’ are decorated with faces. Two types of face are found, one of which can be quite detailed. On these tall ‘cong’, however, the faces are very sketchily drawn, using circles and bars (as shown in the drawing) to suggest facial features. Jade cannot be carved but must be abraded and it would have taken a craftsman many months, if not longer, to work this jade – emphasizing how special its purpose must have been.
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