Squared disc (cong)

Arts of Asia

Neolithic period (ca. 8000–2000 BC), Liangzhu Culture, ca. 3000–2500 B.C.

China

Elaborately furnished Chinese tombs of the late fourth and third millennia B.C. reveal that jade objects were prestigious burial gifts, particularly among the Liangzhu people of the eastern coast (present-day Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces). This bracelet-like form is carved with a masklike image composed of circles and bars that suggest eyes and nose or mouth. The same motif is seen in the tapered exterior surfaces of tall prisms, where it is multiplied in vertical tiers.

Jade-rich burials suggest that Chinese beliefs in the stone’s life-preserving properties originated in prehistoric times.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Squared disc (cong)
Place: China (Artist's nationality)
Date: 3000 BCE–2000 BCE
Medium: Jade
Dimensions: 3.2 × 10.8 cm (1 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Edward and Louise B. Sonnenschein Collection
Reference Number: 1950.519
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