If you wander through the Chinese collection, you will find evidence of true warriors. These warriors had names such as the “Black-headed General” or the “Golden-winged Marshal” – perhaps you’ve heard of them? These great crickets were held in high esteem. That’s right, crickets.
Crickets have been revered in Chinese culture for their song and their fighting spirit. They were kept as pets by palace ladies and hunted by children during the fall. As cricket fighting gained popularity, it became a serious betting sport, and the accoutrement grew increasingly sophisticated.
On display are intricately carved cages made of wood, gourd and ivory for these pets and warriors to reside. The tickler made of ivory and rat hair used to entice crickets to fight is a particular favorite of mine. These crickets ate out of porcelain dishes and slept in beds of ivory. Not too bad a life for an insect, eh?
Comments (2)
I LOVE your cricket fighting display. It was one of my new favorite parts of the Asian section.
Posted by May | October 5, 2007 10:16 AM
Posted on October 5, 2007 10:16
Could you perhaps post more pictures of the cages from the collection? I am very interested in making one of my own.
Posted by Ryan | October 7, 2007 8:13 PM
Posted on October 7, 2007 20:13