Tube (cong 琮)

Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts’ung [cong] 琮; projecting collar at both ends; semitranslucent, greenish gray with opaque black and brown, one pinkish area. Broken at both ends and roughly mended with gray cementlike material, corner chipped.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Historical period(s)
Late Neolithic period, ca. 3000-ca. 1700 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions
H x W x D: 5.6 x 6.9 x 6.8 cm (2 3/16 x 2 11/16 x 2 11/16 in) Diam (hole): 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1919.51
On View Location
Freer Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: cong

Keywords
China, Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
Provenance

Reportedly excavated at Hwang Ling of Lo-Yang, in Honan [1]

Duanfang (1861-1911) [2]

To 1919
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai to 1919 [3]

1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi, in New York in 1919 [4]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 7, H.E. Buckman, 1964, in the object record states: "The Envelope file which has now been destroyed, stated: 'Excavated at Hwang Ling of Lo-Yang, in Honan.'"

[2] Curatorial Remark 5, H.P. Stern, 1956, in the object record, states: "Box for this piece purports this jade to be from the collection of the Viceroy Tuan Fang."

[3] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1429, pg. 341, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[4] See note 3.

[5] 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Duanfang 1861-1911
You Xiaoxi (C.L. Freer source) late 19th-early 20th century

Description

Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts'ung [cong] 琮; projecting collar at both ends; semitranslucent, greenish gray with opaque black and brown, one pinkish area. Broken at both ends and roughly mended with gray cementlike material, corner chipped.

Acquired with a box, now lost.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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