A large archaic mottled jade cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture | 新石器時代良渚文化 玉琮

Collection of Duanfang (1861-1911), by repute.

Yamanaka & Co., London.

The Pan-Asian Collection of Christian Humann (1929-81).

Christie's New York, 23rd June 1982, lot 310.

Collection of Florence and Herbert Irving.

傳端方（1861-1911年）收藏

山中商會，倫敦

Christian Humann（1929-81年）泛亞收藏

紐約佳士得1982年6月23日，編號310

歐雲伉儷收藏

The Liangzhu culture in the Yangtze River Delta, which flourished from the late 4th to the end of the 3rd millennium BC, was one of the most prominent Neolithic Chinese civilizations. Among the large variety of Liangzhu artefacts, cong – tubular jades usually of square section with a central perforation drilled from both ends – stand out as iconic of this culture. They were made for the most prestigious ranks in the society. Although the original meanings of cong were lost following the decline of the Liangzhu culture, their form continued to fascinate generations of collectors, connoisseurs, scholars and artisans for centuries. The importance of cong in the history of Chinese art therefore cannot be overstated.

The earliest cong have the form of a circular bangle with a single tier of zoomorphic masks with large round eyes and ferocious fangs. The rectangular form soon took over and the motif became more complex, often featuring a crowned human figure, perhaps a shaman, on top of an animal mask with protruding goggled eyes and wrinkly snout. Towards the dusk of the Liangzhu civilization, these elaborate, fine engravings slowly disappeared and simpler designs appeared, while at the same time taller cong with multiple rows of faces, such as the present piece, were made. The multi-tiered structure and the abstract design of the present example points to the late Liangzhu period.

Comparable multi-tiered cong are preserved in major museums and private collections. See a nine-tier example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5000 Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jades, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2019, cat. no. 205; another in the Beishantang Collection, exhibited in Chinese Jade Carving, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1983, cat. no. 1; and a further example, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th November 2017, lot 2710, from the Yangdetang Collection.

長江下游環太湖流域良渚文明，公元前約三千多年至二千年盛極一時，為後世留下不少文化遺產，誠乃最重要的中國新石器時代文化之一。綜觀良渚古物，當中又尤以玉琮最具代表性，多呈外方內圓之狀，僅許貴族使用。玉琮原來的象徵與用途，相信早已隨良渚文化的衰落而殞滅，但往後數千年，多少藏家、學者、藝匠慕其式、研其義、續其製。良渚雖歿，玉琮存世，在中國藝術歷史舞台上穩佔要席，源遠流長。

玉琮雛型，採手觸之式，呈圓形，對鑽成孔，飾單層獸面紋，巨目圓睜，尖牙咧嘴。玉琮外廓後漸趨正方，圖案也更為繁複，羽冠神人，下有獸面。到了良渚文化晚期，出現較多如此品的多層玉琮，圖案的陰刻較少，面紋更趨簡約。

飾簡化面紋的多層式玉琮，公私收藏中均有類例，如北京故宮博物院藏九層玉琮，展於《良渚與古代中國：玉器顯示的五千年文明》，故宮博物院，北京，2019年，編號205。北山堂也有藏例，展於《中國玉雕》，香港藝術館，香港，1983年，編號1。養德堂舊藏也有一九層玉琮，2017年11月29日經香港佳士得釋出，編號2710。