China, Late Neolithic, c. 3300-2200 BC. Of cylindrical form with square projections on four corners, each corner carved with two different registers of stylized mask, one comprising twin bands of narrow parallel grooves above incised circular ‘eyes’ and a short raised band with rounded ends for the ‘nose’, and the other with larger eyes and without the parallel bands.

Provenance: Old French private collection. Note the old inventory number, neatly inscribed in red lacquer to the inner ring of the cong.
Condition: Good condition commensurate with age, some nicks and nibbling to the edges, the stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into minor cracks over time. Fine patina.

Weight: 814.8 g
Dimensions: Height 5.9 cm, Diameter 9.1 cm

The dark green jade mottled and streaked with cloudy off-white and black veins and inclusions. Cong are the most characteristic artifacts of the Liangzhu culture and are a kind of counterpart to the “cosmic” Bi discs, as well as possibly having a symbolic connection to the goddess of the earth.

The majority of the comparable examples from controlled excavations have been discovered in the richly furnished tombs of two of the most important Liangzhu culture cemeteries, Yaoshan and Fanshan in Yuhang County, Zheiiang Province and in other sites: see the examples reproduced in Zhongguo meishu quanji, nos. 172, 175, 177, 180 and 181.

Literature comparison: A Liangzhu jade cong of similar form, material and also carved with two registers of masks at the corners, with the top register representing a man, and the bottom register representing a monster mask, is currently in the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and illustrated in Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 17, no. 18 (fig. 3). Another example similar to the present lot with linear designs, but with only one register of masks, is also in the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and illustrated in Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 30, no. 39. For additional examples of two-tiered Cong see F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, nos. 51, 53 and 54.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related cong of similar form but slightly smaller size, also carved with two registers of masks at the corners, the stone of an ivory-white tone, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 30 May 2018, lot 3080, sold for HKD 3,700,000.

良渚文化玉琮
中國，新石器時代晚期，公元前約 3300-2200 年。内圓外方，雕刻人面紋。

來源：法國私人老收藏，内圈可見紅漆書寫的收藏編號。
品相：良好的狀態與年齡相稱，有一些缺口和邊緣磨損，有天然裂縫的石頭，隨著時間的流逝，其中一些可能會發展成細微的裂縫。 良好的包漿。

重量：814.8 克
尺寸：高5.9 厘米, 直徑9.1 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一件相似尺寸略小的琮，四角雕有人面紋，象牙白色調，售于香港佳士得Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 拍場2018年5月30日，lot 3080, 售價HKD 3,700,000.