Five-tier tube (cong 琮) with masks

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    ca. 3300-2250 BCE
  • Geography

    Lake Tai region, China
  • Material

    Jade (nephrite)
  • Dimension

    H x W x D: 11.3 x 5.9 x 6 cm (4 7/16 x 2 5/16 x 2 3/8 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1917.368
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1917.368

Object Details

  • Description

    Squared hollow cylinder of the type ts’ung [cong] 琮; short projecting collar at top and base; interior has circular boring marks and irregular median ridge; mottled orange, yellow, reddish and dark browns; decoration: channeled and incised, vertical grooves on sides, bands, grooves and circles on corners. (Scattered chips and small surface defects.)
    Acquired with a box, now lost.
  • Provenance

    Reportedly excavated from Loyang in Honan [1]
    To 1917
    You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [2]
    From 1917 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York, in 1917 [3]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
    Notes:
    [1] According to Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.
    [2] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1308, pg. 296, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
    [3] See note 2.
    [4] 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

    You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (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)

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