A RARE AND MASSIVE MOTTLED JADE CONG, LIANGZHU CULTURE China, late Neolithic period, c. 3300-2200 BC. The thick-walled cong is of short square section with rounded sides and a cylindrical interior, each corner carved with a stylized human and animal mask design. The eyes and noses as well as the raised bands above the human mask and recesses in between are finely incised with line and scroll designs. The faces are divided with a gently recessed vertical band to the center of each side.

Provenance: From the private collection of Irene and Wolfgang Zacke (1942-2022). The couple has been active in the art trade for well over half a century and were one of the first in Austria to offer Asian works of art in their gallery, starting in 1968. Since the late 1980s, they have been collecting ancient Chinese jades, building an extensive and multiply published collection over the decades.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Some wear, weathering, and minor alterations, as well as small nicks and nibbling to edges, the stone with natural inclusions and fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 1,349 g
Dimensions: Diameter 10 cm

The partly translucent stone is of an olive-green and russet-brown tone with russet veins and inclusions as well as patches of cream tone and areas of opaque ivory-white calcification.

The present cong displays the distinctive characteristic of Liangzhu culture cong vessels, with a square outer section around a circular inner part and decorated with stylized masks neatly arranged on each of the four corners. The exceptional craftsmanship is particularly notable in the very delicate and precise quality of the carving and incised decoration, enhanced by the lustrous patina formed on the surface over time.

Literature comparison:
Compare a similar jade cong, Liangzhu culture, also carved with two registers of stylized human and animal masks excavated in 1984 from Fuquanshan in Qingpu County, Shanghai, now in the Shanghai Administrative Committee of Culture Heritage, illustrated in Liangzhu wenhua yuqi, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 17, pl. 19. See another related example of a jade cong, included in the Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition: Selected Treasures of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 195. For several other examples of two-tiered cong, see F. Salviati, 4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades, Edition Zacke, Vienna 2017, nos. 51, 53, and 54.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 19 March 2015, lot 470
Price: USD 60,000 or approx. EUR 75,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled olive-green, russet-brown and ivory-colored opaque jade cong, China, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, 3^rd millennium BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related two-tiered form, animal masks, and olive-green and russet-brown color of the jade with similar opaque ivory-white calcification. Note the thinner walls and smaller size (6.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 5 April 2016, lot 1
Price: HKD 375,000 or approx. EUR 52,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled green jade vessel, cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture
Expert remark: Compare the closely related two-tiered form, animal masks, and olive-green and russet-brown color of the jade with similar opaque ivory-white calcification. Note the thinner walls and smaller size (7.5 cm).



良渚文化玉琮
中國 ，新石器時代末期，公元前約3300-2200年。器呈外方內圓的筒形，兩端琢成圓口，上下穿透，四角各有不同人面紋。

來源：Irene與 Wolfgang Zacke (1942-2022)。自1968 年起，這對夫婦活躍在藝術貿易界，並且是奧地利最早在其畫廊中提供亞洲藝術品的人之一。1980年代後期，他們一直在收集中國古代玉器，幾十年來建立了極富多樣性的收藏。
品相：品相良好，一些磨損、風化、細微變化、刻痕，邊緣有一些小磕損，玉料帶有天然的內沁和裂縫，隨著時間的推移，其中一些已經發展成細小的裂縫。

重量：1,349 克
尺寸：直徑10 厘米

這件玉琮展現了良渚文化的鮮明特色，外方內圓，均以四角為中軸線，雕琢神人獸面紋，雕琢精細。玉質精良，玉色深綠，局部得見黃白沁斑，不透明的象牙白色鈣化區域。表面包漿細膩。

文獻比較：
比較一件相似的良渚文化玉琮，出土於上海青浦福泉山遺址，兩側也刻有人面紋和獸面紋，現藏於上海文物保護單位，見《良渚文化玉器》，香港，1989年，頁17，編號19。見一件相近的例子，展覽於《歷代文物萃珍 : 敏求精舍三十周年紀念展》，香港，1990年，編號195。其他數個兩層的玉琮可見於F. Salviati，《4000 Years of Chinese Archaic Jades》，Zacke編輯出版，維也納，2017年，編號51，53，和54。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2015年3月19日，lot 470
價格：USD 60,000（相當於今日EUR 75,500）
描述：新石器時代 良渚文化 玉琮
專家評論：比較非常相近的兩層外型、獸面紋、橄欖綠帶皮且局部象牙白鈣化的玉石顏色。請注意玉壁較薄，且尺寸較小 (6.5 厘米)。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港邦瀚斯，2016年4月5日，lot 1
價格：HKD 375,000（相當於今日EUR 52,000）
描述：新石器時代良渚文化獸面紋玉琮
專家評論：比較非常相近的兩層外型、獸面紋、橄欖綠帶皮且局部象牙白鈣化的玉石顏色。請注意玉壁較薄，且尺寸較小 (7.5 厘米)。