Chinese Toggle Depicting a Cicada

A caramel-brown cicada with a minimalist wing cut and not a word wasted.

This toggle depicting a cicada is from China, and dates to the 20th century. It is jade. The dragon is a popular toggle motif symbolizing wisdom, ambition and prosperity, a five-clawed version represented the emperor, and a dragon with a phoenix suggested marriage and was a wedding gift. The long body is almost flat, with a broad head, simple ridged brow and two incised curves forming the wings. The stone is a warm tan with a slightly paler head, and the polish is soft and even. It is 1 inches wide, 2.25 deep and 0.5 high.

Spare, warm and refreshingly direct.