AMER WINTER 2016
The live portion of this session begins on Wednesday, February 3, 2016.
ARCHAISTIC CONG.Late 18th, early 19th century, China. Nephrite: light grayish-yellow with prominent granular band of green. One of the most familiar shapes in Chinese art, the cong appears at least as early as the Neolithic era. In newly excavated sites of the Liangzhu Culture, datable to at least 4,800 years ago, many cong have been recovered. (Yeung, pl. 1. #10, and p. 184; AOC, pp. 124-6; Johnson, p. 9, and #17; and HKM, "Jades" discussion, a nine-cornered tall example from Tinglin). The cong is a prominent form among the jades of the Shang and Zhou periods, and appears repeatedly in revival works of later eras, notably the Sung, Ming, and Qing, in a variety of media.
Its exact significance as a ritual work has intrigued writers from antiquity to the modern era, and while many theories as to how it was actually used have been offered (Teng; Berglund), few seem fully satisfactory. The shape is essentially a circle within a square, the height of the tubal configuration differing with the age of the piece. Animal parts, including "thick-browed, round-eyed, wide-mouthed, longfanged-monster-design" masks may be engraved on each raised face of cong with articulated zones (Johnson, p. 9; Keverne, p. 53, #7, a Liangzhu cong with human facial features incised on the angled corners; and see ACGB, p. 32, #39, an Eastern Zhou work with incised lines and circle decor; and NPM, #7, a Zhou work with five corner "frets").
This massive (11 lb., 5 kg) cong has eleven layers of angled corners and a shaped central opening. Gouge marks are visible on the border of each of the angled corners. There are no animal or human features incised on the corners; rather, it is left to the richly-mottled material itself to enliven the surface. Reference: The Yangtze River Collection, Later Chinese Jades published by Helga Wall-Apelt, 1993. SIZE: 9.25" x 4.5" x 4.38". (23.5 x 11.4 x 11.1 cm.) PROVENANCE: The personal collection of Dr. Helga Wall-Apelt. CONDITION: Chip in side, Natural stone fissure cracks throughout. 47671-236 KAT (1,000-2,000)