Pendant in the shape of a cicada

This realistic cicada is carved from a piece of light-yellow jade with brown mottling on one side and the bluish–white patina known as suiyin zz, a term coined by Chinese jade collectors to describe a piece of buried jade that has come in contact with mercury. The head and thorax are plain in contrast to the wings, which are pitted and veined. The legs and abdomen segments are rendered naturalistically. The head bears two holes drilled in the "ox nose" style, which indicates that it is supposed to be strung on a silk cord, either as a pendant or as a fondling piece.