A jade sculpture of a short, round cicada. The top is curved with carved lines to detail the head and antennas. The middle and bottom have carved curved, detailed lines that make downward facing points. The bottom comes to a point. It is light yellow and cream colored.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A jade sculpture of a short, round cicada. The image is shown with the sculpture lying flat and head pointing upward. The top is curved with carved lines to detail the head and antennas. The middle and bottom have carved curved, detailed lines that make downward facing points. The bottom comes to a point. It is light yellow and cream colored.

Gallery Text

During the Warring States and Han periods, jades functioned not only as ritual and burial items, but also as objects of personal adornment for the living. Other luxury materials, such as gold, bronze, and glass began to be incorporated with jades with greater frequency.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.50.281
Title
Jade Cicada in the Round
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
ornament
Date
3rd century BCE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, Western Han period, 206 BCE-9 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204729

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1740, Early Chinese Art, Arts of Ancient China from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Light olive-green and yellowish brown nephrite
Dimensions
H. 3.4 x W. 1.8 x D. 1.3 cm (1 5/16 x 11/16 x 1/2 in.)
Weight 10 g

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (by 1943), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943.

Published Text

Catalogue
Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Authors
Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber
Publisher
Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1975)

Catalogue entry no. 369 by Max Loehr:

369 Cicada in the Round
Light olive-green and yellowish brown nephrite. The shape and incised details are virtually the same as No. 368; the present piece, however, is slightly larger. Easter Chou(?).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.281
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Max Loehr and Louisa G. Fitzgerald Huber, Ancient Chinese Jades from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, Fogg Art Museum, 1975)., cat. no. 369, p. 247

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 1740 Early China I, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu