Lot 111. A celadon jade figure of a cicada, Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD); 7 cm, 2 ¾ in. Estimate: 80,000 - 100,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

skilfully modelled in the form of a stylised cicada, decorated on both sides with incised details, the stone of a variegated yellowish celadon colour with natural veining and occasional calcified areas.

Property from the Hei-Chi Collection.

Note:Sharply incised with concise strokes on both sides and modelled with elongated wings, this lustrous 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.