Cicada pattern

[Cicada Zhi]

Cicada Zhi, early Western Zhou Dynasty, 14 cm high, 7 cm caliber × 10.5 cm
Zhili’s mouth, neck, flat and round belly, and round feet
The body is decorated with multi-layer patterns from top to bottom: the neck is decorated with cicada patterns, the lower part of the neck is a circle of snail animal patterns, and the abdomen and lower part are decorated with two layers of animal face patterns
Cicadas only rely on food and drink to maintain their life every day, and can fly into the sky and change their shells. They are very strange and mysterious creatures, so they are loved and respected by people. Cicada patterns, as decorative patterns on bronzes, were mostly seen in the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties
Zhi is a drinking device. According to the Book of Rites and Ritual Instruments, “The sacrificial ceremony of the ancestral temple is held by the worshippers, and the horn is held by the inferiors.” Zhi is mainly popular from the late Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty.