Cicada

I've had the idea for this carving in mind for a couple of years, but only recently acquired the right piece of material: to carve a cicada using the natural rind of antler to suggest the texture of the wings and offer tactile contrast with the rest of the piece.
I've worked a lot with white-tail deer and caribou antler, but this is the first one in sambar stag, which I think originates in southeast Asia, and is farmed for its antler.  One of the beautiful things about this material is how you get three textures in one (rind, solid part, and spongey core) which can be utilized for greater artistic expression by way of suggestion and interpretation.
In length it measures 1 3/4" or 4.5 cm.  To my knowledge it is the first netsuke of a cicada utilizing antler in this manner.