Sharply incised with concise strokes on both sides and modelled with elongated wings, this l�♌�ustrous jade carving is arguably one of the best examples of cicadas executed in the ‘Han splitting’ style.

Cicada’s unusual long life cycle as an insect has made it a popular subject in ancient Chinese jades, symbolising rebirth and immortality. A pair of jade cicadas of this type is in the collection of British Museum, illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, p. 319, no. 24:8.

自古以來，因蟬可脫殼重生，成為永生不朽的象徵。此玉蟬溫潤晶瑩，形態纖長，💮線條俐落，盡展「漢八刀」之精湛，拔萃出眾，傳꧋世例中極為罕見。同類玉蟬，倫敦大英博物館藏有一對，可資比較，但其玉質、雕工略遜，圖見羅森，《Chinese Jade: From the Neolithic to the Qing》，倫敦，1995年，頁319，編號24:8。