Jades for Life and Death

Classification: Ceremonial Object

Historical period(s): Late Neolithic period, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE

Object Date: ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE

Medium: Jade (nephrite)

Dimension(s): H x W x D: 5.6 x 6.9 x 6.8 cm (2 3/16 x 2 11/16 x 2 11/16 in) Diam (hole): 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in)

Origin: China

Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Accession Number: F1919.51

: 琮
新石器時代晚期（公元前5000--1700年）
中國
軟玉
高5.6、寬6.9、厚6.8釐米；孔徑5.7釐米
查爾斯·蘭·佛利爾贈送
器物編號： F1919.51

Provenance: Reportedly excavated at Hwang Ling of Lo-Yang, in Honan [1]

Duanfang (1861-1911) [2]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai to 1919 [3]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York in 1919 [4]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 7, H.E. Buckman, 1964, in the object record states: "The Envelope file which has now been destroyed, stated: 'Excavated at Hwang Ling of Lo-Yang, in Honan.'"

[2] Curatorial Remark 5, H.P. Stern, 1956, in the object record, states: "Box for this piece purports this jade to be from the collection of the Viceroy Tuan Fang."

[3] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1429, pg. 341, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[4] See note 3.

[5] 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): Duanfang 端方 (1861-1911)
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (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; projecting collar at both ends; semitranslucent, greenish gray with opaque black and brown, one pinkish area. Broken at both ends and roughly mended with gray cementlike material, corner chipped.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Past label text: 1. (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
Shang dynasty, 1600–1050 BCE
Jade (nephrite)
Gift of Charles Lang Freer F1919.51

Bigger is Better?
Larger cong emphasize impressive scale over meticulous workmanship. Frequently made of lower-quality nephrite, 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 would have been easier to produce as well. The cong form continued in use long after the Liangzhu culture flourished. Later Neolithic and Bronze Age examples are typically smaller and undecorated, suggesting they were less important to those later societies.

Curatorial Remarks

1. Bought from Seaouke Yue [You Xiaoxi] 游筱溪of Shanghai, in New York. For price, see Original Miscellaneous List, p. 341. $75.

2. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Original attribution: Chinese. Chou [Zhou] 周. See further, S.I. 1429, Appendix IX.

3. (Undated Folder Sheet note) Sp. G. is 2.949.

4. (Isabel Ingram Mayer, 1946) Chou [Zhou] 周dynasty. With later repairs.

5. (Howard Philip Stern, 1956) Box for this piece purports this jade to be from the collection of Viceroy Tuan Fang [Duanfang] 端方.

6. (Elisabeth West Fitzhugh, 1957) Nephrite. X-ray diffraction. Film F 507. The gray material at one end is diopside (Film F 475).

7. (H. Elise Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File which has now been destroyed, stated: "Excavated at Hwang Ling [Huangling] of Lo Yang [Luoyang] 洛陽, in Honan [Henan] 河南."

8. (Thomas Lawton, 1973) The following information was carved on the box in which this object arrived: "Chou tsung [Zhou cong] 琮. T'ao chai ts'ang yu [Taozhai cang yu] 陶齋藏玉."

9. (Thomas Lawton, 1978) Attribution changed from Chou [Zhou] 周to Shang 商.

10. (Julia K. Murray, 1982) For a discussion of the Shang 商 type of small, undecorated ts'ung [cong] 琮of which F1919.51 is an example, see Folder Sheet F1917.74.

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

12. (Susan Kitsoulis per Keith Wilson, April 20, 2010) Object name changed from "Cong 琮" to "Ceremonial object." Title changed from "Cong 琮" to "Tube (cong 琮)."

13. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, 8/2/17) Title changed from "Tube (cong)" to "Tube (cong 琮)"; Period One changed from "Shang dynasty" to "Late Neolithic period"; Date changed from "ca. 1600-1050 BCE" to "ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE"; Object Name changed from "Ceremonial object" to "Tube".

14. (Najiba Choudhury per Keith Wilson, July 27, 2018) Chinese Translation by Jingmin Zhang added; and changed Description from "Chinese. Shang Dynasty. Squared, hollow cylinder of the type "ts'ung;" projecting collar at both ends; semitranslucent, greenish gray with opaque black and brown, one pinkish area. Broken at both ends and roughly mended with gray cementlike material, corner chipped. Box." to "Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts'ung [cong] 琮; projecting collar at both ends; semitranslucent, greenish gray with opaque black and brown, one pinkish area. Broken at both ends and roughly mended with gray cement-like material, corner chipped. Acquired with a box, now lost."

Published References

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

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..

Tube (cong 琮)

Related Objects

Related Media

Web Resources