Object: Ten-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks S1987.887

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Maker(s): Artist: Liangzhu culture 良渚 (ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE)

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 3300-2250 BCE

Object Date: ca. 3300-2250 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 29.1 x 7.9 x 7.7 cm (11 7/16 x 3 1/8 x 3 1/16 in)

Origin: China, Lake Tai region

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

Collection: Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Accession Number: S1987.887

: 人面紋十節琮
新石器時代晚期良渚文化（公元前3300--2250年）
中國太湖地區
軟玉
高29.1、寬7.9、厚7.7 釐米；孔徑6.2 釐米
阿瑟·米切爾·賽克勒贈送
器物編號：S1987.887

Provenance: By 1936 to 1959
Diedrich Abbes (1866-1959), Greenwich, Connecticut [1]

1959 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from the estate of Diedrich Abbes on July 10, 1959 through Frank Caro, C. T. Loo Chinese Art, New York [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler in 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] Diedrich Abbes's ownership of this object is noted in Stanley Charles Nott, Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages: A Review of its Characteristics, Decoration, Folklore, and Symbolism (London: B.T. Batsford, 1936), plate VII.

[2] See note on Arthur M. Sackler, M.D. letterhead acknowledging the "purchase and receipt of 17 pieces of stone carvings of the Shang, Yin-Chou and Chou periods from the Dietrich Abbes collection. The price in full, exclusive of commission, will be paid as indicated by this note in two installments," copy in object file. See also letter to Frank Caro from Arnold J. Bai of the law firm Goldstein and Peck, Bridgeport Connecticut, September 28, 1960, copy in object file. The letter asks Frank Caro to have (presumably) his client, Arthur M. Sackler, to send the final payment for the Diedrich Abbes Collection of jades to the law firm. Goldstein and Peck mistakenly identify Mr. Caro's business as C. T. Loo Company, when it was called C. T. Loo Chinese Art.

[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous owner(s): C.T. Loo Chinese Art (1953-1961)
Frank Caro (1904-1980)
Diedrich Abbes (1866-1959)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)

Description: This slightly tapering jade prism, or cong 琮, is square with a thick-walled, slightly recessed projection at either end. Straight vertical channels separate ten superimposed decorative units. These units, each of which is divided into two symmetrical halves that meet at the corners, consist of two bands, separated by a narrow horizontal channel. The wider, upper band is decorated with horizontal lines and the two concentric circles that can be read as “eyes.” The lower, narrower band can be interpreted as a nose. The central perforation, which was drilled from both ends, does not join perfectly.

Past label text: 1. (Lawton, Thomas 1987) Label copy, In Praise of Ancestors exhibition:
"Recent archaeological excavations in southeastern China have yielded a large number of highly polished and intricately decorated 'cong' of this type, suggesting that the shape may have been developed in that area and had particular significance there."

Curatorial Remarks

1. (Jenny F. So, April 1995) Subject changed from "Ritual Prism (cong 琮) to "Ritual Object (cong 琮)."

2. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, March 3, 2008) On this date entered: Period One (Late Neolithic period), Date
(3300--2250 BCE), Artist (Liangzhu 良渚 culture), Title, Object name, Geographical region (Lake Tai 太湖 region); plus Description per Jenny F. So and Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

3. (Jeffrey Smith per Keith Wilson, July 17, 2008) Ceremonial Objects added as secondary classification.

4. Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Title changed from "Tall tube (cong 琮)" to "Tube (cong 琮)."

5. (Jeffrey Smith, April 14, 2016) Transferred from Description: (Jenny So, from Jade Project Database) Mottled dark grey and brown, in parts almost black. Taller and slightly tapered toward the top, this cong also shows greater signs of wear. The same incised "eyes" are found on either side of the notched corners, but the notches are decorated with finely...(comments missing).

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry for F1987.887; by Jenny F. So (2003)

Cong 琮 ritual instrument
Neolithic period, ca. 3000--2500 BCE
Liangzhu 良渚 culture, Lake Tai 太湖 region
Nephrite, molted dark gray and brown with rust and black patches
Height 29.00--29.10 cm; dimensions at top 7.75 × 7.86 cm; at bottom 7.06 × 7.16 cm; diameter of opening 5.91--6.17 cm; of collar 7.06--9.52 cm
S1987.887

This tall, ten-tiered cong 琮 shows obvious tapering from top to bottom. Its surface is worn but the fine meanders instead of the parallel lines that fill the headbands are still visible. The ledge marking the imperfect meeting of the drillings from both ends is clearly seen on the inside wall. The high collar also shows a squared outlined.

It is one of the few examples that shows an even number of tiers. The lack of mathematical precision in the height for each tier--ranging from 2.22 to 2.44 centimeters high--would suggest that the division was done perhaps by sight rather than with the help of any instrument.

Published References

Alfred Salmony. 3000 Years of Chinese Jade. Exh. cat. New York, January 10 - February 1, 1939. no. 121.
John Johnston, Chan Lai Pik. 5000 Years of Chinese Jade. Exh. cat. San Antonio, Texas, 2011. cat. 3, p. 38.
Dr. Paul Singer. Chinese Art: A Thousand Masterpieces from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. Washington, 2000. cat. 11, p. 60.
J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, Fang Gu. Yuqi shidai: Meiguo bowuguan cang Zhongguo zaoqi yuqi [The Jade Age: Early Chinese Jades in American Museums]. Beijing, 2009. p. 121.
America's Smithsonian: Celebrating 150 Years. Washington, 1996. p. 183.

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Ten-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks

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