Jade Cong

This milky-white and brown jade short-form cong has a square outer section around a circular inner part, and a circular hole. The core is slightly taller than the outer walls which are not exactly flat. Carved in high relief on one side is a ch’ih lung (or chiwen), a hornless dragon. The cong and the bi are the two predominant ritual jades of the Neolithic period. They have no obvious utilitarian or decorative purpose, were buried in large quantities in the Liangzhu period (about 3000-2000 BC), and their significance remains a mystery. However, it has been suggested that cong represent the unity of heaven and earth where the square represents the earth and the circle represents the heaven