A Timeline of Jade Cong 玉琮年譜

by in Jade Authentication

The Chinese jade cong has spanned a long time for more than four thousand years from the Liangzhu Culture.

g5gp4180Liangzhu Culture Jade Cong. H.30cm. Carved with white jade, the cong has eight sections alternating arrangement of deity faces and crowns which has curvature cut mark that may be interpreted as the recording of the pass away of the queen. Comparing to the typical Liangzhu congs, this one has employed more elements of low relief carvings such as the eyes of the deity.  Antiquity evidence includes dissolved pits, calcification, additive crystals, cleaving vein & deteriorate marking.

DSCN9229AQijia Culture, Jade Cong H. 9.5cm, W. 8cm

The plane of each side merges the round part of the center cylinder without clear boundaries like the congs of other cultures. Similar items are seen in the National Palace Museum. Antiquity evidence includes differential weathering, cleaving veins, and dissolved pits.

1566aShang Dynasty, jade cong, H,7cm, D.3cm,150gramsCarved with white jade, this cong has three sections. The upper and lower sections of the four sides are deity face with low relief lines. The middle part is four trenches. Antiquity evidence includes dissolved pits, additive crystal, and calcification.

 

c-ws-032a (1)Shang Dynasty Jade Cong with God’s Face Motif and Ancient ScriptsThe style of God’s face is similar to the one shown on Shang bronze ax The Jade cong has three sections, God’s face is carved on the corner.  At the center surface, ancient scripts not yet decoded are carved. The characters may be Xia or Shang’s.005brpupgy6or8uqxwue6690 Spring Autumn Jade Cong, H. 29cm, D.7cm, 3500grams. Carved with white jade, the cong decorated with a protruding style of auspicious clouds combined with  ┐∫ Z  symbols to further increase the feeling of mysterious flavor.005brpupgy6oqogem0zdd690 Warring States Jade Cong with Motifs of Dragon and Priests, H.30.4cmThe jade carving of the Warring States(B.C.403-B.C.221) is of exquisite quality. With a streamlined design, most of the motifs are dragons, phoenixes, dancing ladies and crops to depict the theme of heavenly life. The low relief on the surface of the artifact applies abstract and simplified motifs while those carvings extend from them apply realistic ones. For a similar article, please read  The Evolution of Jade Cong 玉琮的演變.