Cricket Cage

Object Details

• Description

  Embellishing the plain shiny body of this gourd is a plain concave ivory foot and a convex lip.The lid, apparently fashioned of a single piece of ivory, depicts the immortal Liu Hai, seated atop his three-legged toad (Chn, chan). Strung on an ivory cord held by Liu Hai (Chn) in either hand are circular pieces of cash, also made of ivory. An ivory bat, symbolic of good luck, is affixed to the ivory cord immediately behind Liu Hai's head. The eyes of the toad and bat are inlaid with a darker material.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Daoism in the Arts in China (December 16, 2006 to July 1, 2007)

  On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1930s, 1860s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Bats, Cricket, Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Toads, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth collection, Liu Hai

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Containers