Lot 142. A small jade cong, Possibly Neolithic period-Shang dynasty. Height 2.5 cm, 1 in. Lot sold: 52,920 GBP (Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 GBP). © 2022 Sotheby's.

carved from a rich yellow and russet coloured stone, the smooth surfaces undecorated.

Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd., London, 18th March 1983.

Literature: Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pl. 7:3.

Note: Created in compact size and austere form, this finely polished jade cong attracts attention through the warm yellow tone of its stone. Originating from the Liangzhu culture (c. 3300-2300 BC) in the Yangtze River Delta, the production of jade cong spread also to other Neolithic cultures and continued into the Bronze Age. While Liangzhu jade cong are often ornamented with masks of various levels of complexity, those found in other civilisations or made later tend to be undecorated, or to display only minimalistic design. Jessica Rawson, in Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p.154, states that small and undecorated cong, such as the present piece, appear to have been preferred in the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC) and that small cong with narrow collars like seen here have been found at the sites in Baode, Shanxi province and Sufutun, Shandong province.

Sotheby's. HOTUNG | 何東 The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung | Part II: Day. London, 8 December 2022