AN EXCEPTIONAL SPINACH-GREEN JADE CONG, SHANG

AN EXCEPTIONAL SPINACH-GREEN JADE CONG, LATE SHANG DYNASTY
China, Anyang period, c. 1300-1050 BC. With plain sides and shallow circular collars, the translucent stone of a spinach-green tone with icy veins and dark speckles.

Provenance: From the private collection of Professor Filippo Salviati, Rome, Italy. A professor of archeology and art history at the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies at the Sapienza University of Rome, Prof. Salviati has researched and published extensively on Chinese archaic art.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, the stone with few natural fissures, some of which may have developed into microscopic hairline cracks over time.

Weight: 349.3 g
Dimensions: Size 9.1 x 9 x 4 cm

Expert's note: The present jade cong is an exceptional masterpiece, featuring a spectacular combination of plain form, a near-perfect mineral of true spinach-green tone and varying translucency, skillful use of the subtle variegation of color, all to emphasize and intensify the magnificent interplay of natural sunlight as it shines on and passes slowly through the jade. Examples where the lapidary was in such total control of the medium, despite its remarkable hardness, are rare.

The jade has been tested and measures between 7.0 and 8.0 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related jade cong in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.89.156.4. Note the spectacular interplay of light which is very similar to the present lot.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related but considerably smaller (6.4 cm wide) grayish-green cong, of near-identical form, dated first millennium BC, at Christie's New York in Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection Part II on 24 September 2020, lot 893, sold for USD 17,500, and a related spinach-green jade cong, but of darker tone, at Christie's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman Part II on 27 November 2007, lot 1592, sold for HKD 211,500.

商末翡翠玉琮
中國，安陽時期，約公元前1300-1050 年。光滑的側面和淺圓形口，半透明的菠菜綠色，帶有冰冷的紋理和深色斑點。

來源：義大利羅馬Filippo Salviati教授私人收藏。 Filippo Salviati教授是羅馬大學東亞研究所考古系及藝術史系教授。 Salviati教授對中國古代藝術進行了廣泛研究並出版了很多專著。
品相：狀況極佳，輕微磨損，很少的天然裂縫，其中一些裂縫隨著時間的推移可能會發展成微小的裂縫。

重量：349.3 克
尺寸：9.1 x 9 x 4 厘米

專家注釋：這件玉琮堪稱絕世佳作，以其質樸的形態、近乎完美的菠菜綠和多變的半透明礦物的組合，巧妙運用微妙的雜色，強化了玉琮的精美。 自然陽光照在玉石上，緩緩穿過玉石。 儘管寶石具有非凡的硬度，非常少見。

玉石經過測試，摩氏硬度計介於 7.0 和 8.0 之間。

拍賣結果比較：一件相近但稍小 (寬6.4 厘米) 灰綠色琮，形狀幾乎一模一樣，約公元前1000年，見紐約佳士得 Sacred and Imperial: The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection Part II 2020年9月24日lot 893, 售價USD 17,500; 一件菠菜綠玉琮，但較黑色調，見香港佳士得Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman Part II 2007年11月27日 lot 1592, 售價HKD 211,500。