A glass sculpture of a short and stout cicada. The top is flat with carved lines to detail the head. The middle and bottom are shaped into two longer points. It is light yellow in color with orange coloration in the engraved parts.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The glass sculpture is of a short and stout cicada. The image is shown with the sculpture lying flat and head pointing upward. The top is a curved, flat surface with carved lines to detail the head and two short antennas. The middle and bottom are shaped downward into two longer points. It is light yellow in color with orange coloration in the engraved parts.

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
1943.50.271
Title
Glass Cicada
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
figurine
Date
1st century BCE-1st century CE
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, China
Period
Han dynasty, 206 BCE-220 CE
Culture
Chinese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/204761

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
White glass with a greenish tinge
Dimensions
H. 5.6 x W. 3.2 x Thickness 0.8 cm (2 3/16 x 1 1/4 x 5/16 in.)
Weight 31 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. 566 by Max Loehr:

566 Glass Cicada
Biconvex piece of white glass with a greenish tinge, similar in shape to No. 565. Eastern Han, first century A.D.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.50.271
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.

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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. 566, p. 393
  • Jenny So, Early Chinese Jades in the Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2019), pp. 286-7, cat. 40B

Exhibition History

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

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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