Tube (cong 琮)

The object of conventional outline is the ts’ung [cong] 琮, archaeological symbol of earth. It is pleasing because of its color and markings. The stone is pale green with brown and cream areas. (Calcified streaks; cracked; pitted, eroded veins, one filled; old, polished-over surface nicks at one edge; chipped corner at the other end.)

(Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Less tall and broader in section, this cong 琮is totally plain. The collars are taller, and the edges are sharply and precisely cut. The inner walls of the cylindrical perforation are also smoothly finished.

Historical period(s)
Anyang period, Late Shang dynasty, ca. 1250-ca. 1050 BCE
Medium
Jade (nephrite) imported from the northeast
Dimensions
H x W x D: 16.6 × 7.1 × 7.1 cm (6 9/16 × 2 13/16 × 2 13/16 in) Diam (Hole): 5.9 cm (2 5/16 in)
Geography
China, probably Henan province, Anyang
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1987.466
On View Location
Sackler Gallery 23b: Anyang: China's Ancient City of Kings
Classification(s)
Ceremonial Object, Jade
Type

Ceremonial object: cong

Keywords
Anyang period (ca. 1300 - ca. 1050 BCE), China, Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 - ca. 1050 BCE)
Provenance

To 1959
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), Shanghai, China, London, England, Montreal, Canada, New York, NY, and Ridgefield, Connecticut [1]

From 1959 to 1963
Edna H. Bahr (d. 1978), by descent from her father, Abel William Bahr

From 1963 to 1987
Arthur M. Sackler, New York, purchased from Edna H. Bahr in 1963 [2]

From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler on September 11, 1987 [3]

Notes:

[1] According to information provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009.

[2] See #156: "Grey green with brown-cream markings. Plain," on list provided by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, October 9, 2009, copy in object file.

[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Edna H. Bahr died 1978
Abel William Bahr 1877-1959
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler 1913-1987

Description

The object of conventional outline is the ts’ung [cong] 琮, archaeological symbol of earth. It is pleasing because of its color and markings. The stone is pale green with brown and cream areas. (Calcified streaks; cracked; pitted, eroded veins, one filled; old, polished-over surface nicks at one edge; chipped corner at the other end.)

(Jenny F. So, from Jade Project Database) Less tall and broader in section, this cong 琮is totally plain. The collars are taller, and the edges are sharply and precisely cut. The inner walls of the cylindrical perforation are also smoothly finished.

Published References
  • J. Keith Wilson, Jingmin Zhang. Jades for Life and Death. .
  • Dr. Paul Singer. Masterpieces from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. cat. 136.
  • et al. Asian Art in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery: The Inaugural Gift. Washington, 1987. cat. 44, p. 88.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Jades for Life and Death
Google Cultural Institute
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