Jade. China, Neolithic Liangzhu culture, c. 3300 - 2200 BC 琮形挂珠 - 新石器時代晚期, 良渚文化, 約公元前3300-2200年 This lovely little bead is shaped like a miniature cong 琮 with rounded collars at the extremities, a squared body and two masks carved on the sides. The stylized masks are of the animal type, similar to those engraved in the bottom registers of the previous cong, no.5. The pupils of the eyes are surrounded by tiny incised lines and a short bar in relief carved below designates the mouth. The two plain, raised bands carved on top of the bead are also similar to those that decorate the top of the previous cong. The suspension hole, not perfectly centered, is drilled from both sides and narrows towards the middle of the bead. The jade is reddish in color and features white, age-related calcification with some small nicks and chips. Beads with a square cross-section shaped as miniature cong have come to light mostly from sites in Jiangsu province such as Caoxieshan, Wu county; Fuquanshan, Qingpu county, Shanghai; and Sidun, Wujin, Changzhou: see Zhejiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Liangzhu wenhua yuqi 良渚文化玉器 (Jades of the Liangzhu Culture), Beijing 1990, nos.70 and 175-177: and Huang Xuanpei, Gems of the Liangzhu Culture from the Shanghai Museum, Hong Kong 1992, no.69. Provenance: From an old Austrian collection LENGTH 2.95 CM 長 2.95 厘米 Expertise: Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati All jades in this catalogue have been professionally examined, authenticated and dated by Univ. Prof. Filippo Salviati. Professor Salviati teaches Chinese and Korean art at Sapienza University in Rome, in the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies. He is a world expert on archaic Chinese jades, having released multiple publications and being cited by renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s.