Heavy Jade 'Cong' | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1943.50.506
Title: Heavy Jade 'Cong'
Other Titles: Alternate Title: ts'ung
Classification: Ritual Implements
Work Type: prism
Date: c. 3300 - c. 2000 BCE (?)
Places: Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period: Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture, c. 3300-2200 BCE
Culture: Chinese
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/204868

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Blackish brown nephrite
Dimensions: H. 4.4 x W. 9.2 x D. 9.2 cm (1 3/4 x 3 5/8 x 3 5/8 in.)
Weight 756 g
Technical Details: Technical Observations:
Raman Spectroscopy

Raman was performed by Katherine Eremin on July 6, 2010 (4 files) and October 5, 2011 (5 files) and the mineral was identified as nephrite. Two visually distinct areas were selected for analysis, "Raman 1," a clear crystal bundle, and "Raman 2", a dark black area adjacent to the crystal. Despite their visual differences, they were both identified as nephrite. When examining the spectra, the dark black area analyzed for "Raman 2" only contained one peak at 3600nm, a feature characteristic of light-colored nephrite without high iron. Thus, it is possible the dark color is from an organic dye that is not detected through Raman.

Published Text

Catalogue: Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Authors: Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber
Publisher: Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975)

Catalogue entry no. 235 by Max Loehr:

235 Heavy Ts’ung
Blackish brown stone prism, with battered edges. The four sides are slightly convex, and the eight corners are worked off to shape the low projections of a thick-walled cylinder. The perforation, which shows traces of the drilling, is conical. In the middle of each side is a shallow vertical channel separating the four faces into symmetrical halves. Each of these halves, or corner pieces, is decorated with three horizontal ledges—a short, plain one and two long striated ones. Below the tip of each short ledge is a small, lightly incised circle. Late Western Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop

Accession Year

1943

Object Number

1943.50.506

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Publication History

Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975), cat. no. 235, p. 180

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Your Collection

Log in to the Harvard Art Museums