Six-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks, probably recut

Object Details

• Description

  Tall, squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts'ung [cong] 琮; base flat, top has bare suggestion of a collar; mottled dark browns and traces of green; light brown earth incrustations; decoration: channeled horizontal notches on corners, vertical central grooves on sides; strata cracks. (Slightly chipped.)

  Acquired with stand, now lost.

• Provenance

  To 1916

  Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1916 [1]

  From 1916 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang in 1916 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1032, pg. 228, 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.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Lake Tai region, China

• Culture

  Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Ceremonial Object

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  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.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 3000s

• Name

  Wang, Jiantang, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Lake Tai region, China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE), Chinese Art, Nephrite, Jade

• Culture

  Chinese, Liangzhu culture

• Object Type

  Ceremonial objects