Eleven-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

On View
  • Period

    ca. 3300-2250 BCE
  • Geography

    Lake Tai region, China
  • Material

    Jade (nephrite)
  • Dimension

    H x W x D: 28.5 x 7.5 x 7.6 cm (11 3/16 x 2 15/16 x 3 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1916.410
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1916.410

Object Details

  • Description

    Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts’ung [cong] 琮; very tall form with wide projecting collar at both ends; bored from both sides leaving slight median ridge; richly mottled reddish brown, olive green, and dull yellow; scattered veins of cream white decomposition and some dark, rough incrustations; decoration: channeled and incised grooves, corner ridges and faint circles. (Collar chipped.)
    Acquired with box and 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
    The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 995, pg. 214, 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
  • Exhibition History

    Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
    Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
    Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
    Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
    Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
    Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
    Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1944 (December 13, 1944 to May 7, 1946)
    Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)
    Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
  • 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
  • On View

    Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
  • Restrictions and Rights

    CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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