Chinese jade belt hook carved as a praying mantis and cicada

An image of Belt hook/dai gou. Opaque white jade with grey line inclusions. The body decorated with a cicada with a phoenix motif on its wings. The hook terminates with a praying mantis with prominent eyes. The topic of this carving refers to the well-known proverb: When the praying mantis is (intent on) catching the cicada, it fails to notice that the yellow bird is behind (waiting to catch the praying mantis). Nephrite, length 11.1 cm,1600-1800, Chinese.

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Belt hook/dai gou. Opaque white jade with grey line inclusions. The body decorated with a cicada with a phoenix motif on its wings. The hook terminates with a praying mantis with prominent eyes. The topic of this carving refers to the well-known proverb: When the praying mantis is (intent on) catching the cicada, it fails to notice that the yellow bird is behind (waiting to catch the praying mantis). Nephrite, length 11.1 cm,1600-1800, Chinese.

Image data

Accession Number: O.36-1946
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/29.0
Focal length: 100
Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 539 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 288.81kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 29/1
Captured: 2007:11:24 17:03:33

Key words

17th Century 18th Century AD belt clasp belt hook carved Chinese cicada dai gou decorated decoration decorative Fitz_AA insects jade nephrite ornament praying mantis

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Chinese jade belt hook carved as a praying mantis and cicada"
            Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/image/media-207381 Accessed: 2025-12-24 13:46:28

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            |title=Chinese jade belt hook carved as a praying mantis and cicada
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            University of Cambridge}}

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        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa37/O_36_1946_1_200711_mfj22_dc2.jpg"
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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Chinese jade belt hook carved as a praying mantis and cicada</figcaption>
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