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Scott A., non expert or not, all comments are appreciated.
First off, thanks for the links....the forum discussion is quite interesting and informative.
Your 2nd comment regarding the crude design as compared to known examples does have a component that I agree with, but only in part. The design seems more simple in that the carving of this cong is only a series of deep 'C' shaped ravines, as opposed to circular patterns and shallow cut scrolling decorative lines that I see in many museum examples. So, I, too, am stll looking to find a genuine cong of the same design. However, there is nothing rough about the carving, nor the feel of the jade.
If you look at the manner that the 'C' shapped ravine is carved, you will see a nearly perfect mitred edge where one side of the 'C' joins to the next. Any broken and/or roughness appears to from age, but I understand this can be faked. There are no circular cut marks...only straight micro line scratches, so i am inclined to believe these are hand tool made unless you can explain how a rotary cutter can make these type of micro lines.
On my flight up to Boston, yesterday, I read Jade:Stone of Heaven, by Richard Gump. Written in the 1960's, much of the information is anictdotal stories about Chinese opinions on jade....not much science. However, the book has a nice section on how jade was carved.
With regards to the center hole of the cong, according to Gump, a hollow tube (probably bamboo) was covered in abrassive sands, then rotated. Once a certain depth is achieved, the core is removed by administering a solid wack with a chisel and mallet.
To me, this looks exactly what has happened with this cong. It also appears that since the cong is 8" in height, that the cutting of the hole took place from both sides of the cong. There is not perfect alignment and inside there is a ridge from where the center core(s) were broken off. Furthermore, the hole is not a perfect circle, although visibly it is near to it.
I do not know what techniques are use when high speed drill are utilized. My thought is that the hole would have perfect alignment and circular symetry, as most likely a drill press would have been used creating a perfectly circular cut at a perfect 90 degree angle.
I also do not think it is fair to compare the inner hole of small congs with that of larger. Small congs have an advantage that the inner tube can be further tooled/carved more easily. A hand and tool would not easily fit in my cong.
The only images of the inner circular hole of museum congs I could find were all small examples, 4" or less in height. If you find an 'inside' photo of a large example, I would love to see how it compares.
Regarding the use of a rotary cutter for the exterior, look at the last set of photos again. Sorry that they are so small....when I am home next week I will post more pics. Meantime, you can see in the closeup of the surface very distinct straight line cuts. These are very small lines, invisible to the eye except through a magnification. I was able to compare these small cuts with museum photos, so I am quite sure the piece was hand tooled, but this does not mean it is old.....that is the question I hope to answer.
Thanks,
Tim
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