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Flower Basket in the Shape of a Cicada

mid-19th century
Not on view
In Japan, the cicada represents summer. Since, depending on the species, this insect may take as long as seventeen years to develop underground before it emerges as a nymph, it has come to represent concepts such as hope for rebirth and immortality. Displayed on the pillar of the tokonoma (alcove) in the tearoom, this hanging flower basket would recall a cicada on a tree—a summer scene expressing the seasonal setting of the tea gathering.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 蝉形掛花籃
  • Title: Flower Basket in the Shape of a Cicada
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: mid-19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Bamboo, rattan
  • Dimensions: H. 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm); W. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
  • Classification: Basketry
  • Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
  • Object Number: 91.1.2108
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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