Cong with Stylized Mask Motifs

Place of OriginChina

Date3300-2300 BCE

DimensionsH: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); W: 2 15/16 in. (7.5 cm); Depth: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)

MediumJade with carved pattern.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of the Popplestone Family

Object number

2006.128

Not on View

DescriptionAlthough the surface of the inner circle is undecorated, the squared exterior is scored and features taotie, which are highly abstract mask images also found on Chinese bronze vessels of the Shang and early Chou periods. The taotie image is sectioned into four parts, its face indicated by eyes and parallel bars suggesting a nose.

Label TextScholars attribute jade congs to the Liangzhu culture (ca. 3300–2300 BCE), part of the Neolithic cultures of the Yangtze River Delta. Their square shape and circular bore are interpreted cosmologically as representations of earth and heaven (though this is inferred from later texts). Decorative motifs are sometimes described as taotie or spirit masks.