Object: Eight-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks F1918.14

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: 20.8 x 6.9 x 6.9 cm (8 3/16 x 2 11/16 x 2 11/16 in) Diam (hole): 4.7 cm (1 7/8 in)

Origin: China, Lake Tai region

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1918.14

: 人面紋八節琮
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20.8、寬6.9、厚6.9 釐米；孔徑4.7 釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號：F1918.14

Provenance: To 1918
Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1918 [1]

From 1918 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang, in New York, in 1918 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1342, pg. 309, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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): Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (C.L. Freer source) (late 19th-early 20th century)
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; irregularly bored leaving median ridge; mottled olive brown, olive green, and dull cream, with dark blue-green spots on one collar; extensive cream frosting of incipient disintegration; decoration: channeled and incised grooves, corner ridges, and circles; surface worn smooth; incision on upper corner and toolmarks. (Slightly chipped.)

Acquired with box and stand, now lost.

Past label text: 1. Studies in Connoisseurship: 1923–1983, September 23, 1983–March 1, 1984; by Julia K. Murray (shown with F1916.499, F1916.118, F1917.63, F1916.410; additional jades organized by types shown in same case)

A few jades related to these plaques and beads by shape or by decoration have recently come to light in the excavation of sites associated with a late phase of the Liang-chu [Liangzhu] 良渚 culture, which flourished during the late Neolithic period in eastern coastal China. They include an angular plaque, of a different shape than the Freer pieces (F1916.628, F1917.382), bearing an arrangement of large oval eyes executed in low relief; such large eyes in further elaboration are seen on a plaque in the Freer collection (F1916.511). Other jades with comparable décor include a few ts'ung [cong] 琮 with demonic-mask motifs (F1916.118, F1916.499), sometimes in multiple registers. The mask motif may be ancestral to the ubiquitous t'ao-t'ieh [taotie] 饕餮 found on Shang 商 dynasty bronze vessels. The beads (F1917.378a, F1917.378b) probably were originally part of an elaborate necklace.

2. 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, F1917.95, 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.

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

Cong
Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300–2250 BCE
China, late Neolithic period and Shang dynasty, ca. 3300–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
F1918.14

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 K. T. Wong [Wang Jiantang] 王鑑堂, of Shanghai 上海, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 309. $500

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1342, Appendix IX.

3. (Archibald Gibson Wenley, 1945) Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

4. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.992. Nephrite.

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

6. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a discussion of the tall ts'ung [cong] 琮 with segmented band decor, a type found in the late Neolithic jade inventory in eastern China, see Folder Sheet F1916.410.

The band-and-circle decor is organized into 8 horizontal registers, and each of the four walls is bisected vertically by a wide, shallow trough. Compared with other tall ts'ung [cong] 琮 with segmented decor in the Freer collection, the ts'ung [cong] 琮 (F1918.14) has thinner walls and the tubular element is more nearly round. Rather than describing the surface as "worn smooth," perhaps in view of the extreme hardness of jade it would be better to say that the decor is cut less deeply and sharply than in other examples.

Change to Neolithic, ca. 2000 BCE, from Western Chou [Zhou] 周 dynasty.

7. (Stephen Allee per Keith Wilson, February 29, 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.

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

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

Published References

J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Grace Dunham Guest, Archibald Gibson Wenley. Annotated Outlines of the History of Chinese Arts. Washington, 1949. p. 6.
Sherman Lee. A History of Far Eastern Art. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1964. p. 44, fig. 37.
Archibald Gibson Wenley. Early Chinese Jade. vol. 63, no. 5 Washington, November 1946. p. 346.

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