From the travelling collection of
The Mystical Caravan
The Reliquary · Cabinet Catalogue
Danger level
Item R–1367–400The Cage of the Last Cricket
An empty pavilion cage of dark carved wood from which a cricket's song may still be heard beneath the Mid-Autumn moon.
- Classification
- Echo-bearing cricket cage
- Origin
- Suzhou, Qing dynasty China
- Estimated date
- Qing dynasty
- Collection status
- On display
- Materials
- Dark carved wood
- Condition
- Intact and apparently empty
The Curator’s record
The cage should be listened to, not occupied. No attempt is to be made to capture the unseen singer.
Provenance
Silk merchant Master Shen stole a rare cricket, then learned its song belonged to the night rather than to his collection. He released it and every other cricket he kept. The pavilion cage remained after his death.
Observed activity
Though visibly empty, the cage produces a soft cricket song during the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon is full.
The Tale of this object
The Cage of the Last Cricket
Season 3 · Episode 03In tonight’s story, we journey to an autumn garden in old China, where a wealthy collector discovers a cricket whose song seems more beautiful than anything money can buy. But when admiration turns to possession, he learns that some treasures are most precious when they are allowed to remain free.
Enter the Tale