A DARK SPINACH-GREEN JADE CONG, LATE SHANG DYNASTYChina, c. 1200-1100 BC. The slightly convex thick-sided square-section facetted exterior is left undecorated, terminating in a short circular foot and mouth, the interior aperture of characteristic circular section. The highly polished, mostly opaque stone of gray and bluish-white color with areas of translucent dark green interspersed with black specks and white veins.Provenance: Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashionpany with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than 60 years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.Condition: Very good condition with old wear, natural fissures, minuscule nicks, and minor chips, some of which have smoothened over time.Weight: 513.1 gDimensions: Height 14.9 cmThe shape of the present cong ismon in jade production dating from the Neolithic period to the Shang dynasty, which was characterized by a square outer section around a circular inner part. The tapered triangular segments at the corners below the mouth and foot are quite rare and acharacteristic of later Shang congs. Heaven is symbolized as a circle and earth is a square. Although the precise meaning and function of the cong are, to this day, unknown, one interpretation is that it protected the body against evil spirits and malign influences.Literatureparison:Compare a related undecorated spinach-green jade cong included in the exhibition, Chinese Jade, An Important Private Collection, Spink and Sons, November 1991, in the catalog, no. 23.pare a related cong of similar form in the British Museum illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade, London, 1995, p. 151, fig. 2.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 4 April 2017, lot 167Price: HKD 187,500 or approx.EUR 25,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A dark spinach-green jade cong, Shang dynastyExpert remark:pare the closely related form and especially the tapered triangular segments at the corners below the mouth and foot, as well as the smooth sides, fine polish, and dark spinach-green color. Note the smaller size (8.9 cm).Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 14 September 2019, lot