yebreed:

Nature Inspired: Golden Cicada Resting On a Jade Leaf

Exquisite ornament of the Ming dynasty.

Total weight of the insect figurine, made of 95% pure gold, is 4.65 g. The thickness of the finely crafted wings is only 2 mm.

Unearthed in Boshiwu (博士塢), Wufeng Mountain, Suzhou. Now exhibited in Nanjing Museum (南京博物院).

Photo: ©南京博物院

da-tang:

Dish in the Shape of a Leaf, late 7th–early 8th century, China, Tang dynasty (618–907)

Silver with parcel gilding

Flowers and birds increasingly became the dominant motifs of Tang silver from the eighth century onward.

The Metropolitan Museum