Eleven-tier tube (<em>cong</em> 琮) with masks
date: label: Date
content: ca. 3300-2250 BCE
label: Period
content: Late Neolithic period
notes: label: Description
content: Squared, hollow cylinder of the type ts’ung [cong] 琮; very tall form with wide projecting collar at both ends; bored from both sides leaving slight median ridge; richly mottled reddish brown, olive green, and dull yellow; scattered veins of cream white decomposition and some dark, rough incrustations; decoration: channeled and incised grooves, corner ridges and faint circles. (Collar chipped.)
label: Description
content: Acquired with box and stand, now lost.
label: Label
content: Ritual tubes (cong) of this height are rare and have been found only in the richest graves. The foot-long perforations drilled through such an intractable material as jade as evidence of a highly advanced jade-working technology.
label: Provenance
content: To 1916
label: Provenance
content: Wang Jiantang, Shanghai to 1916 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1916 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Wang Jiantang in 1916 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 995, pg. 214, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Jades (May 9, 1993 to May 18, 1998)
label: Exhibition History
content: Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1944 (November 15, 1944 to May 6, 1946)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1944 (December 13, 1944 to May 7, 1946)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Ancient Chinese Art, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 17, 1944)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Metalwork (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Wang Jiantang 王鑑堂 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Lake Tai region, China
topic: label: Topic
content: jade
label: Topic
content: nephrite
label: Topic
content: Late Neolithic period (ca. 5000 - ca. 1700 BCE)
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
culture: label: Culture
content: Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE
setName: label: On View
content: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 19: Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: Related Online Resources
content: Jades for Life and Death
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1916.410
objectType: label: Type
content: Ceremonial Object
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Jade (nephrite)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 28.5 x 7.5 x 7.6 cm (11 3/16 x 2 15/16 x 3 in)
label: Dimensions
content: Diam (hole): 4.9 cm (1 15/16 in)