A rare green and russet 'human face' jade cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, circa 2500-2000 BC | 新石器時代 良渚文化 約公元前二千五至二千年 人面紋玉琮

Collection of Dr. Olaf K. Skinsnes (1917-1997).

Christie's New York, 20th March 2014, lot 2000.

施欽仁醫生（1917-1997年）收藏

紐約佳士得2014年3月20日，編號2000

Typical of Liangzhu culture cong, a shape invented and developed from a bracelet by the Neolithic communities in southeast China, this tapering squared cylinder, perforated from top to bottom, is divided into six-and-a-half evenly distributed tiers, each with its four corners decorated with stylised 'human-face' masks. The beauty of the present cong is highlighted by the variegated rich brown and green colour of the stone and the smoothly polished surface.

Although the functions and meanings of multi-tiered cong like the present lot are not entirely clear, they were found from archaeological excavations of the Liangzhu tombs and thus these are believed to be of great significance to the Liangzhu culture.

Cong with incomplete tiers such as the present lot are known but very rare. The collar at the top of the present lot is the result of reworking, possibly from the trimming down of an originally taller cong, leaving a half-tiered design. See two cong excavated from a Liangzhu site, which show clearly they were cut from a single taller cong, included in Peter Y. K. Lam, The Dawn of Chinese Civilization: Jades of the Liangzhu Culture, Hong Kong, 1998, nos 13 and 14. Other examples of cong with incomplete tiers are seen in museums, such as one in the Harvard Art Museum, see Max Loehr, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, 1975, no. 236; and another in the Art Institute of Chicago, illustrated in Alfred Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades from the Collection of Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein, Chicago, 1952, pl. LVIII:1. A further cong with seven-and-a-half tiers from the collection of Huang Jun, is published in Guyu tulu chuji [Catalogue of ancient jades, part 1], Beijing, 1939, pl. II:6.

Jade cong that are over twenty centimetres tall such as the present lot are rare. Compare an eleven-tiered cong in the Qing court collection, Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum Jadeware (I), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 32. They would have undoubtedly been extremely costly to make and must have been as remarkable in ancient times as they are today, worthy only of individuals of the highest status in the community.

玉琮深青褐色，有赭紅斑。長方柱形，外方內圓，上窄下寬。外表分為六節半，每節以四角為中線，刻簡化人面紋四組。整器製作規整，雕琢精緻，拋光細膩。 

玉琮是良渚文化玉器中最典型器物之一。雖然學術界關於玉琮的起源及用途眾說紛紜，但從出土墓葬中所發現玉琮之數量足以顯示玉琮在良渚文化玉器中的特殊地位。目前大多數學者認同玉琮是和某種神袛崇拜有關的禮儀用玉。

外表分節不完整的良渚玉琮雖在出土及博物館中收藏均有所見，但存世稀少。此件玉琮頂部飾半節簡化人面紋，或由於從更大一件玉琮中切割還來所致，如良渚文化遺址出土兩件玉琮，可明顯看出是由一件大玉琮切割成二，見林業強，《東方文明之光：良渚文化玉器》，香港，1998，圖13及14。哈佛大學藝術博物館亦藏有一例，見羅樾，《Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum》，劍橋，1975年，編號236。芝加哥藝術博物館有一例，見 Alfred Salmony，《Archaic Chinese Jades from the Collection of Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein》，芝加哥，1952年，圖版LVIII:1。另見黃濬舊藏一例，分七節半，見《古玉圖錄初集》，北京，1939年，圖版II:6。

此琮尺寸超過二十公分，為良渚玉琮之較大例子，較大之例，可見清宮舊藏一件十一節玉琮，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：玉器（上）》，香港，1995年，圖版32。此類尺寸較大玉琮用料不菲，當時應為重要祭器。