Jade. China, Late Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BC 獸面紋玉琮 - 新石器時代晚期, 良渚文化, 約公元前3300-2200年 The cong 琮 is one of the most typical forms created in jade by the late Neolithic Liangzhu culture and its “classic” form is well exemplified by the present, well-carved example decorated with fine masks incised at the corners. The cong has an external squared section and an internal cylindrical perforation: the hole has been drilled from both sides of the object, leaving a partly ground down ridge in the centre. The corners of this two-tiered cong are decorated with the typical stylized human and animal masks customarily seen on Liangzhu culture jades, rendered with very thin, engraved lines. The upper registers contain a stylized human face crowned by three horizontal bands: the eyes are rendered as two concentric circles with pointed projections on the sides and a short bar decorated with swirling etched spirals that stand for the mouth. Carved grooves separate the masks in the top registers from the bottom ones: these represent the face of an animal whose eyes are encased within slanting projections joined by a ridge filled with engraved lines. The mouth is rendered with a decorated, short bar. The cong is polished and smooth: the jade is mostly reddish with some brown and black and mottled areas of light green crossed by diffused white veins which also highlight the design of the etched patterns. The original light green color of the stone can mostly be seen along the top collar. Cong carved with two registers presenting both types of masks have been discovered in some of the most important Liangzhu sites, such as Sidun (Wujin, Jiangsu), Fanshan (Yuhang, Zhejiang) and Fuquanshan (Qingpu, Shanghai). See Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Jades of the Liangzhu Culture), Beijing 1990 nos. 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 22 and 24. 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. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection HEIGHT 5.2 CM - WIDTH 7.9 CM 高 5.2 厘米 - 寬 7.9 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.