Lot 198. A jade cong, Late Shang-Western Zhou dynasty or later; h. 11.3 cm. Lot sold: 1,386,000 HKD (Estimate: 200,000 - 300,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

perforated from both ends, of tall cylindrical form with a square cross-section, each corner carved with five registers of stylized masks comprising a long horizontal band incised with two grooves, above two faintly incised circles with two short strokes forming the eyes, wood stand.

Provenance: Chung Wah Pui, Hong Kong, 7th November 2002.

Exhibited: British Museum, London, on loan, 2002-15.

Note: A Shang dynasty multi-tiered cong, probably with a similar patina, was excavated in Jinsha, Chengdu; see Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5,000-Year Civilization Demonstrated by Jades, Beijing, 2019, cat. no. 185. The Jinsha example, however, appears to be more carefully shaped and is finely decorated with lightly incised horizontal lines. 

Sotheby's. HOTUNG  The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1, Hong Kong, 9 October 2022