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Published:
1. Myers Myers (ed.) & Filippo Salviati (auth.), Radiant Stones. Archaic Chinese Jades, Paris, 2000, no. 12.
2. Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Paris, 2016, p. 43, no. 39.
Exhibited:
1. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Montréal, 17 November 2016-19 March 2017.
2. Kimbell Art Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 4 March-19 August 2018.
Expert’s note: This magnificent cong, carved with thirteen tiers of stylized face masks, is of imposing and exceptionally tall size. The carving of such a large piece of jade several thousand years ago must have been extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming, signifying the great wealth and social status of its original owners.
External Expert Authentication: This lot was previously authenticated and dated by Sotheby’s London, confirming the dating stated above. The experts in charge were Henry Howard Sneyd, Senior Director and Chairman of Asian Arts (Americas & Europe), Chinese Works of Art, and Cherrei Tian, Deputy Director and Specialist in Chinese Works of Art. At the time, the lot was valued at GBP 300,000–500,000, equivalent to approximately EUR 375,000–625,000 when converted and adjusted for inflation as of the time of writing.
China, c. 3300-2200 BC. The mostly opaque stone of a variegated deep celadon and dark green tone with black specks as well as russet and off-white veins and inclusions, the natural mottling creating a fascinating interplay of colors with vivid cloud-like formations.
The cong of typical cylindrical form with square projections on four corners, sectioned into thirteen tiers of matching panels angled over the four corners, the sides slightly tapering towards the base, each corner carved with a stylized mask comprising twin bands of narrow parallel grooves above incised circular eyes and a short raised band with rounded ends for the nose.
Provenance: The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired in Hong Kong in 1999.
Condition: Very good condition with ancient wear, signs of prolonged burial and traces of weathering with associated tiny losses, minuscule nibbling, obvious losses to the mouth and one edge, the stone with natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.
Weight: 2,069 g (excl. stand), 3,014 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 37.8 cm (excl. stand), 39 cm (incl. stand)
With a fitted hardwood-shafted metal stand. (2)
The Liangzhu culture and its remarkable jade artifacts came to prominence in the late 1980s, when the discovery of several significant cemeteries brought international attention to the richness of their tomb contents. Since then, a wave of new archaeological findings has dramatically transformed our understanding of this late Neolithic civilization. At the Mojiaoshan site, Chinese archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a vast, walled settlement covering 750 acres. This site, the largest known walled settlement from late Neolithic China, includes palatial foundations, jade workshops, habitation zones, and a sophisticated network of internal waterways.
Distinguished by their quantity, variety, and superb craftsmanship, Liangzhu jades are among the most iconic artifacts in the history of Chinese civilization. Among them, the jade cong stands out as the most emblematic. These objects feature a square exterior surrounding a circular inner hollow, with each corner serving as a vertical axis for the carving of symmetrical mask motifs. Early examples are typically squat and intricately decorated with deities or animal forms. In contrast, later versions are tall and slender, with stylized facial features dominated by prominent eyes and noses.
The development of tall cong is here fully realized in one of the best known of all types. It belongs to the category of larger cong fully displayed in tomb M3 at Jiangsu Wujin Sidun. Although large examples are abundant in this tomb, fourteen of the thirty-two found are over 20 cm in height. Very few tombs with such an abundance of cong have come to light, though a few large cong have come from smaller tombs. There are a number of large multi-tiered cong in museums in Asia and the West, and these pieces may all have come from one or two large tombs discovered in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. Large cong must have been known as early as the Song period, when they were copied in Longquan celadon and Guan ware. Ming Wilson (Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pp. 15-16) suggests that the Song potters might have been inspired by the jade cong unearthed during the construction of their new capital at Lin’an, modern-day Hangzhou, where many cong were found in recent decades.
Literature comparison:
One of the tallest surviving Liangzhu jade cong, 49.5 cm high, formerly in the collection of George Eumorfopoulos, is now preserved in the British Museum, registration number 1937,0416.188. Compare a closely related Liangzhu jade cong of thirteen sections, 32.6 cm high, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F2016.2a-d.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 20 March 2023, lot 21
Price: USD 1,500,375 or approx. EUR 1,368,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large neolithic mottled grey jade cong, Liangzhu culture, circa 3000-2500 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, stone, and size (37.2 cm).
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