China, c. 3300-2200 BC. Of rounded square section, two corners finely worked with three registers of stylized masks, the cong neatly drilled from both sides, exactly as expected from a miniature cong from this distinct group. The stone of a greenish-yellow tone russet inclusions and areas of calcification.

Provenance: Collection of Lee Kong Chian, Singapore, thence by descent to his nephew Oey Ek His. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above in the 1990s (by family repute). Lee Kong Chian (1893-1967) was a prominent Chinese Singaporean businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee Foundation and one of the richest men in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company 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 minor wear, minuscule nicks, signs of weathering and erosion, natural fissures, some of which have developed into small hairline cracks.

Weight: 43 g
Dimensions: Height 6 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related jade cong-form bead, ca. 3300-2250 BC, 3 cm, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number F1916.761.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 31 May 2023, lot 3002
Price: HKD 279,400 or approx. EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaic calcified celadon jade 'mask' cong, Neolithic period, Liangzhu culture
Expert remark: Compare the related mask motifs, manner of carving, and color of the stone, albeit with more calcification than the present lot. Note the size (7.2 cm) and the different form.