Object: Five-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks F1917.95

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: 14.5 x 6.7 x 7 cm (5 11/16 x 2 5/8 x 2 3/4 in) Diam (hole): 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in)

Origin: China, Lake Tai region

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1917.95

: 人面紋五節琮
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14.5、寬6.7、厚7 釐米；孔徑5.7 釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1917.95

Provenance: To 1917
Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1177, pg. 272, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous owner(s): Li Wenqing 李文卿 (C.L. Freer source) (ca. 1869-1931)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Description: Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts’ung [cong] 琮; tall form with wide projecting collar at both ends; richly mottled tones of pale to dark brown with traces of green and yellow; decoration: channeled and incised, grooves and corner ridges, circles, linear and meander patterns. (Collar and corners chipped.)

Acquired with box and stand, now lost.

Past label text: Liangzhu 良渚 and its Legacy, November 4, 2010–January 3, 2016; by Keith Wilson (shown with F1917.384, F1916.118, F1919.47, F1916.499, F1917.65, F1918.14, F1916.410, F1917.41, F1919.51)
Cong 琮
China, Liangzhu 良渚 culture, ca. 3300–2250 BCE, late Neolithic period
Jade (nephrite)

These jade cong 琮 tubes with a square cross-section bored with a central hole are now considered an innovation of the Liangzhu 良渚 culture. Cong 琮 come in a great variety of sizes and are frequently found in Liangzhu 良渚 tombs, sometimes arranged with other jades in a circle around the body. The original meaning and function of these ritual forms remain unknown. Many of the earliest and most carefully finished examples (the result of months of laborious shaping by hand) are comparatively compact; their rounded shapes suggest the form evolved from bracelets. On two of the cong 琮 here (F1916.118, F1917.384), the haunting mask design—with its bar-shaped mouth, raised oval eyes, sunken round pupils, and two bands that might indicate a headdress—resembles the motif seen on Liangzhu 良渚 jewelry.

Much larger cong 琮, which are frequently made of lower-quality nephrite, emphasize impressive scale over meticulous workmanship. They have flatter sides, sharply angled corners, and squared collars at top and bottom—all indications that less time and attention were paid in shaping a rectangular block of jade. Simplified mask motifs on these cong 琮 would have been easier to produce as well. Such shifts might be associated with changing attitudes towards ritual objects that were intended for burial.

The cong 琮 form continued in use long after the Liangzhu 良渚 culture flourished, but later Neolithic and Bronze Age examples (such as F1917.41, F1919.51) are typically smaller and undecorated, suggesting their diminished importance in burial rituals.

Museum founder Charles Lang Freer acquired these cong 琮 largely for their aesthetic appeal: he simply liked the way they look. Freer was attracted to their intriguing shapes, smooth surfaces, and mottled colors. A century ago, when these cong 琮 appeared on the international art market, little was known about their historical, cultural, or archaeological significance. Today these mysterious tubes, along with most of the other objects in this room, are recognized as being among the most important jades from the Liangzhu 良渚 culture now outside China.

2. (Keith Wilson, "Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades," Gallery 19, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Oct. 14, 2017 to Apr 15, 2018)

Cong
China, late Neolithic period and Shang dynasty, ca. 3300–1050 BCE
Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300–2250 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1917.95

What Was It For?
An innovation of the Liangzhu culture, these jade cong (pronounced tsung) tubes are the result of months of laborious shaping by hand. Various sizes are found in Liangzhu tombs, sometimes arranged with other jades in a circle around the body. While their original meaning and function remain unknown, the circular shape of many early examples suggests the form evolved from bracelets. Look for a haunting mask design, with a bar-shaped mouth, raised oval eyes, and sunken round pupils.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Lee Van Ching [Li Wenqing] 李文卿, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 272. $400

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Han 漢. See further, S.I. 1177, Appendix VIII.

3. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1946) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.974. Nephrite.

5. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1946) The rendering of the circles to resemble an eye is also seen in F1916.499.

6. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.

7. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Western Chou [Zhou] 周.

8. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) The band-and-circle decor appears in five horizontal registers on the ts'ung [cong] 琮 F1917.95 and there is a slight taper in width from top to bottom. For a discussion of tall ts'ung [cong] 琮 with segmented decor, see Folder Sheet F1916.410.

Attribution is changed from Western Chou [Zhou] 周 to Neolithic, ca. 2000 BCE.

9. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, February 26, 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 Dimensions per Christine Lee, from Jade Project Database.

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

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

12. (Jeffrey Smith per Janet Douglas, June 17, 2010) Nephrite added as modifier to existing medium of "jade" based on conservation analysis.

Unpublished Research: Draft catalogue entry for F1917.95; 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, variegated light and dark amber to brown with traces of green and tan
Height 14.4--14.5 cm; dimensions at top 6.74 × 6.79 cm; diameter of openings 5.2--5.7 cm
Purchased from Lee Van Ching [Li Wenqing] 李文卿, Shanghai 上海, in New York
F1917.95

Identical human images--round eyes, scrolled nose, double headbands--mark the five tiers of this cong 琮. The execution is cursory, with much detail worn away. The collar is tall, standing clear above the projecting corners, which meet at near right angles to produce a squared outline. This suggests that in the manufacture of this cong 琮, a circular collar was carved out of a rectangular block of jade instead of drawing out corners from a cylinder as in the case of many Liangzhu 良渚 examples. This implies a significant conceptual departure in the design and making of the cong 琮, one in which the four corners took precedent over the cylindrical shape. In other words, its new ceremonial function has replaced its original ornamental function.

Similar five-tiered cong 琮, also in the same variegated material, have been excavated from Sidun 寺墩, southern Jiangsu 江蘇 province, north of Lake Tai 太湖. [1]

Figures:
Fig. 1. Drilled rectangular block with a collar sketched out; see Liangzhu wenhua bowuguan 良渚文化博物館. Dongfang wenming zhi guang: Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 東方文明之光：良渚文化玉器 = The Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Jades of the Liangzhu Culture (Yuhang shi: Liangzhu wenhua bowuguan, Xianggang: Xianggang zhongwen daxue wenwuguan, 1998), cat. 7.
[1] Zhejiang sheng wenwu kaogu yanjiusuo 浙江省文物考古研究所, Shanghai shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui 上海市文物管理委员会, and Nanjing bowuyuan 南京博物院, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe and Hong Kong: Liangmu chubanshe, 1989), nos. 50, 52.

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .

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Five-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks

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