Liangzhu culture, ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE Search this
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
Lake Tai region, China
Date:
ca. 3300-ca. 2250 BCE
Period:
Late Neolithic period
Description:
Tubular ring with four angles slightly projecting, a variation of the type ts'ung [cong] 琮, possibly a bracelet; translucent, mottled creams, browns, and traces of gray green; light sprinklings of incipient disintegration; decoration: channeled and in low relief; four rectangles with t'ao-t'ieh [taotie] 饕餮 masks carved in two planes and meeting in center of face. (Rims have old smoothed breaks.)
Acquired with a box, now lost.
Provenance:
Reportedly excavated in Shensi [1]
From 1897
Wu Dacheng (1835-1902), acquired in 1897 [2]
To 1917
You Xiaoxi (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [3]
From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from You Xiaoxi in 1917 [4]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]
Notes:
[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record states: "Said to have been excavated in Shensi and acquired by Wu Ta-ch'eng in 1897."
[2] See note 1.
[3] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 1324, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[4] See note 3.
[5] 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.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes (November 20, 2010 to January 3, 2016)
Ancient Chinese Jade (September 4, 1980 to March 6, 1981)
Previous custodian or owner:
Wu Dacheng 吳大澂 (1835-1902)
You Xiaoxi 游篠溪 (late 19th-early 20th century) (C.L. Freer source)
