† AN IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE GREEN JADE THREE-TIERED CONG, NEOLITHIC PERIOD, LIANGZHU CULTURE

Expert authentication:
1. Dr. Gu Fang has examined the present lot and guarantees its authenticity and the dating above. He assessed it as a piece of excellent quality. A copy of Dr. Gu’s signed and notarized expertise, dated 26 February 2007, accompanies this lot.
Dr. Gu Fang (born 1962) is an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese art and a leading authority on jades. He graduated from the Department of Archaeology at the prestigious Beijing University in 1986 and later studied at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), where he now serves as a Senior Fellow specializing in archaeological excavations and Chinese jade research. A former visiting scholar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he has authored several books on Chinese jades, including the 15-volume The Complete Collection of Jades Unearthed in China (2007), one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, as well as Chinese Jade: The Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Jade in China (2012).
2. Sam Myers has examined the present lot in 2017 and confirmed its authenticity and the dating above. He appraised it at a value of USD 85,000 (or approx. EUR 95,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A copy of the valuation from Myrna Myers Arts d’Extrême Orient, Paris, written and signed by Sam Myers, dated 5 May 2017, accompanies this lot.
Sam Myers is a scholar and expert of Chinese jades and works of art with over 50 years of experience. In 1976, his wife Myrna Myers opened a gallery in Paris, specializing in Asian art, and together the couple built an extraordinary art collection, including one of the world’s most distinguished jade collections, published in numerous catalogs and seen around the world in a number of important museum exhibitions.

China, 3300-2200 BC. The thick-walled cong is carved with squared projecting corners divided into three registers, the mask on the upper and lower registers are nearly identical with incised eyes above the mouth below horizontal ridges. The masks in the central register are more ornate and represent an animal mask with similar mouth below large ovoid eyes.

The translucent stone is of a beautiful sage-green tone with dark specks, russet veins, and areas of ivory-white calcification.

Provenance: Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, United States, by 2007. Collection of Lord Anthony Jacobs, London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. Collection of Marla M. Kosec, London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. Lord Anthony Jacobs (1931-2014) was a distinguished British businessman, politician, and philanthropist best known for his leadership of enterprises such as BSM driving schools and the Spudulike restaurant chain. From 1999 to 2002 he sat on the House of Lords Works of Art Committee, reflecting his deep engagement with the arts while building a notable collection over his lifetime. Marla M. Kosec (born 1956) is an American medical professional entrepreneur, philanthropist, and devoted collector whose life has been shaped by decades of travel, service to others, and enduring friendships formed in China, Indonesia, and England. Over 18 years, she assembled a deeply personal collection of Buddhist art and Chinese jades, which she views not as possessions but as living companions.
Condition: Excellent condition with signs of prolonged burial, traces of weathering and erosion with an old smoothened chip to the rim, the stone with natural fissures, some of which may have developed into small hairlines.

Weight: 673 g
Dimensions: Height 7.8 cm, Diameter 9.5 cm

The Liangzhu culture and its remarkable jade artifacts came to prominence in the late 1980s, when the discovery of several significant cemeteries brought international attention to the richness of their tomb contents. Since then, a wave of new archaeological findings has dramatically transformed our understanding of this late Neolithic civilization. At the Mojiaoshan site, Chinese archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a vast, walled settlement covering 750 acres. This site, the largest known walled settlement from late Neolithic China, includes palatial foundations, jade workshops, habitation zones, and a sophisticated network of internal waterways.

Distinguished by their quantity, variety, and superb craftsmanship, Liangzhu jades are among the most iconic artifacts in the history of Chinese civilization. Among them, the jade cong stands out as the most emblematic. These objects feature a square exterior surrounding a circular inner hollow, with each corner serving as a vertical axis for the carving of symmetrical mask motifs. Early examples are typically squat and intricately decorated with deities or animal forms. In contrast, later versions are tall and slender, with stylized facial features dominated by prominent eyes and noses.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related green cong with three identical masks, dated to the Neolithic period, 9.1 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 2022,3034.54.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2022, lot 33
Price: USD 264,600 or approx. EUR 250,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A green jade cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture
Expert remark: Compare the closely related stone, manner of carving, and motifs. Note the much smaller size (5.9 cm) and two-tiered form.

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