BUTTERFLIES IN THE ART OF CHINA AND THE NETHERLANDS - Brill
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BUTTERFLIES
Eva Ströber*
BUTTERFLIES IN THE ART OF CHINA AND THE NETHERLANDS
During the preparation for the exhibition 10.000 x Happiness, I came across a
number of pieces of Chinese porcelain decorated with butterflies. I found
myself falling for not only the beauty of the subject, but also for its symbolic
implications.
The following discussion of the symbolism of butterflies, rather than being
organized in a strictly formal way, will be presented in a manner rather
similar to the playful and erratic flight of a butterfly.1
Butterflies in China
Literary sources and extant paintings suggest that the butterfly was already a
popular subject by the Tang dynasty (618-907). Insects and butterflies also
appear as subjects in Chinese paintings and on ceramics in the Yuan dynasty
(1279-1368). Blue-and-white dishes and vessels, many of them made for
export to the Middle East, used a repertoire that combined animals such as
qilin or fish and flower scrolls with insects such as crickets, cicada or
mantises.2 The subject of insects, including butterflies, in combination with
flowers was taken up again and became most popular on Kraak porcelain of
the late Ming period in the beginning of the 17th century.
The Kraak-style bowl in fïgure 1, decorated in different hues of underglaze
blue and mounted in the Netherlands, is delicately painted with a butterfly,
various plants and a cricket.3 Inside, centrally depicted, is the motif of a bird
sitting on a rock that was so popular with the painters of Kraak ware, and
once again some small insects and plants.
Erotic and romantic associations
Butterflies as a primary motif became particularly fashionable on Chinese
porcelain in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). An elegant example is a small
cup and saucer (figs 2 and 3), dated Daoguang (1821-1850). They are
luxuriously painted in familie rosé colours on a golden ground, and depict
butterflies circling and dancing among peonies and other flowers. The design
perfectly expresses the romantic and erotic associations of butterflies.
The bright apparel of the butterfly, and its peripatetic movement from bloom to
bloom, are associated with frivolous and sensual pleasures. The butterfly is ‘the
emblem of a lover sipping nectar from the calyx of a flower, a female symbol’.4
Butterflies are therefore frequent metaphors for young men in love, just as the
peonies around which they circle represent the feminine object of their desire.
On the design of the cup and saucer this meaning is further emphasized by
the presence of white chrysanthemums: in Chinese the chrysanthemum is
zhu, which is phonetically close to zhu, meaning ‘to last’, and therefore
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represent the wish that love should endure. via free access
Fig. i The association of butterflies with love, romance and tragedy is also reflected
Kraak-style bowl
in literature, in a famous story set in the 12th century. It is a sort of Chinese
decorated with
Romeo and Juliet: the story of the ‘Butterfly Lovers’, the scholar Liang Shanbo
butterflies and insects,
Jingdezhen porcelain and his love Zhu Yingtai, who make a vow of ‘till death do us part’. However,
with underglaze blue, Zhu’s parents have already arranged a marriage for their daughter with a man
h: 7.5 cm., d. 11.0 cm., from a rich family. When Liang hears this, he dies of a broken heart. On the
Ming dynasty, Wanli
day of her wedding Zhu visits his grave. The grave opens and Zhu jumps into
period (1573-1620),
early ^ century.
it, whereupon the lovers emerge from the grave together, transformed into two
Keramiekmuseum big butterflies. The design of a pair of beautiful butterflies is thus a symbol of
Princessehof, lnv.no. romance and eternal love.
OKS 1969-77
In China, butterflies are associated with beautiful scents because they are
attracted by the fragrance of flowers. There is a story of a girl who was so
proficient in the art of perfuming herself that wherever she went, butterflies
would follow her. It is therefore no surprise to find the motif of butterflies on a
Chinese hat perfumer (figs. 4 and 5), a device using for applying perfume to
hats. The upper part has a round cover for holding the perfume, which would
disperse through the openings. Four medallions of two butterflies facing one
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another are the main decorative element pierced into the upper globular viapart
free access
Fig. 2
Cup and saucer, decorated with butterflies and peonies,
Jingdezhen porcelain with overglaze enamels.
Saucer: d. 10.5 cm., Cup: h. 4.3 cm.,
Qing dynasty, Daoguang mark and period (1821-1850).
Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, lnv.no. NO 2375
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via free access
Fig. 3 of this hat perfumer. The ground is decorated with the ‘sacred lotus’ pattern
Detail offig. 2 on gold; stylized lotus flowers and scrolls. The lower part is a column on a
round base. The porcelain stand is decorated with gold decorations on a red-
glazed background, in imitation of lacquer.
Hat stands of this shape are only known to have been made in the Qjanlong
era (1736-1795). Like the one from Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, they are
normally painted using the familie rosé palette and gold.5
Chinese paintings
Another association of butterflies, flowers and scent is to be found on
paintings of the Tang dynasty. It seems that butterfly painting started with
Li Yuanying (d. 684), who became Prince Teng. He was the 22nd son of the
founding emperor of the dynasty. He is remembered in China because he
built the Pavilion of Prince Teng, Teng Wang Ge, near Nanchang, Jiangxi.
Around this pavilion Prince Teng gathered the cultural elite to enjoy painting
and literature. His paintings of butterflies are mentioned in the late-8th-
century Palace Poems of the Tang poet Wang Jian (c.766from
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Brill.com02/07/2021 the
palace for several days without a summons, I called for the butterfly picture via free access
F'g-4 by the Prince of Teng.’ A descendant of Prince Teng, Li Zhanran (8th century),
Hat perfumer,
a high court official, also seems to have painted butterflies, which he
Jingdezhen porcelain
with over glaze enamels
identified as da hai yan ‘great sea eyes’, xiao hai yan ‘small sea eyes’, jiang
and gilding, xia ban ‘river summer spots’ and cun li lai ‘coming from the village’.6
h. 27.3 cm., d. 15.5 cm.,
Qing dynasty, Qianlong One of the most charming very early paintings in which butterflies appear is
mark and period (1735-
the ladies wearing flowers in their hairt attributed to Zhou Pang (c.730 - c.800),
1795)-
Keramiekmuseum
but perhaps somewhat later in date (fig. 6). The painting shows elegantly
Princessehof, lnv.no. dressed Tang ladies with fashionable, high and heavy coiffures, their hair
NO 435 ornamented with real and artificial flowers and jewellery in the shape of
flowers. The subject has been identified by Ellen J. Laing as the activities
Fig-5
associated with the Flower Morning Festival, when ladies wearing large
Detail of fig. 4
flowers in their hair chased butterflies.7 This last activity was known as bu die
‘striking the butterfly’, which has very sensual overtones. It seems that the
Tang emperor Ming Huang (or Xuanzong) (r.712-756) organized this spring
festival every year to select ladies for the inner chambers, until Yang Guifei
monopolized his undivided attention. The images of beautiful court ladies
ornamented with and ‘wrestling’ with butterflies (the verb bu also means ‘to
wrestle’) have an explicitly erotic connotation.
Zhuangzi and the butterfly
In Chinese cultural tradition, butterflies not only represent love and sensual
pleasure, but are also seen as a symbol for the spiritual world. They appear in
literature and philosophy as a metaphor for dreams; for the floating, illusive
and transient world.
One of the earliest appearances of the butterfly in Chinese literature is in the
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writing of the Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi or Zhuang Zhou (late 4th century viaBC).
free access
Fig. 6 Once Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering
Detail
around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He did not know he was
Attributed to Zhou Fang
Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up, and there he was, solid and unmistakable
(c. 730-800)
Ladies wearing Flowers Zhuang Zhou. But he did not know if he was Zhuang Zhou who had dreamt he
in their Hair, was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang
Ink and colour on silk, Zhou and a butterfly there must be some distinction! This is called the
Handscroll, 180 x
Transformation of Things. (Trans. Watson, p. 49)
46 cm., late 8th -
early 9* century.
Liaoning Provincial The butterfly here is a symbol of transformation. Few creatures represent meta-
Museum, Shenyang morphosis better than the brilliantly coloured, airbome butterfly, which begins
life as the earth-bound Caterpillar. As different in form and appearance as
Zhuangzi and the butterfly, the evolution of the Caterpillar into a butterfly
suggests that there is continuity in both cases, which calls into question the
validity of the distinctions normally made between different States of existence.
The metamorphosis of the Caterpillar into the butterfly was for many Daoists a
perfect allegory for the awakening of the Daoist adept. To quote Edward Shafer:
The ascetic butterfly emerges from the greediest of early stages. There are
whole species of these creatures who have no mouth and no stomachs and
therefore, understandably, do not eat or drink ... They are even more rarified
beings than the Taoist transcendents, who at least nourished themselves on air
and dew. They are the true progeny of Chuang Chou (Zhuangzi).8
The philosophical content of the story of Zhuangzi and the butterfly is
interpreted in a painting by Lu Shoukun, titled The Self Being of Zhuangzi,
dated in 1973 or 1974 (fig. 7). It is part of a series of paintings the artist called
Zen paintings.9 Lu Shoukun’s painting shows the relationship between
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material reality and the world of the free and happy movement of the spirit. via free access
Fig. 7
Lu Shoukun (1919-1975)
The Self Being of
Zhuangzi,
ink on paper, 1338 x
70 cm., dated in 1973
or 1974. Hong Kong
Museum of Art
The heavy black brushstrokes represent the material world, the reality into
which Zhuangzi awakes after his dream; the butterfly, associated by its red
wings, symbolizes the sphere of the free spirit. On the right-hand side of the
painting are the title of the painting The Self Being of Zhuangzi, the date and
the artist’s signature, thus forming a connection between the upper, spiritual,
and lower, material parts of the painting. The empty white space is where the
constant metamorphosis of nature takes place, where the boundaries to
transcendence are to be found. The black, white and red represent traditional
Chinese aesthetics: most monochrome ink paintings bear the red seal of the
painter. It is a non-verbal, ‘mystic’ form of communication and reception,
which the painter refers to as ‘Zen’. It differs from, for instance, paintings of
the literati tradition, where the inscription instructs the viewer on how to
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interpret the depiction. via free access
□ Butterflies in the Netherlands
Metamorphosis is the key term, the tertium comparationis, to connect the
philosophical symbolism of the butterfly in the East with the Christian
symbolism of butterflies in the West.
In Christian tradition, butterflies and other animals, such as lizards, that shed
their skins or emerge from hibernation, were often used as symbols of the
resurrection of Christ. Butterflies, caterpillars and other insects, in
combination with flowers, represent the most common subject matter of
Dutch still life painting of the 17th century.10
The Dutch painter Johannes Goedaert (1617-1668), who lived and worked in
Middelburg, is well known for his still lifes. He was very interested in insects,
becoming one of the first entomologists in the Netherlands. Like the early
Chinese Daoists, he actually captured caterpillars and observed their
metamorphosis into butterflies. In 1662 and 1667 he published his major
work: Metamorphosis Naturalis. A print from this work shows the
metamorphosis of a Red Admiral from the Caterpillar to the pupa to the
butterfly (fig. 8).
In this work Goedaert gives a religious interpretation of his observations.
He compares the metamorphosis of insects with mankind’s life on earth and
in heaven: ‘lek heb oock selfs vande hope der Christenen, welcke is de
opstandinge tot een volkomen en geluckigh ende eeuwigh leven, eenighsints
een voor-beldt ende ghelijekenisse in dese geringe dieren bespeurt.’ (In these
creatures I observe an example of and likeness to the hope of Christians,
which is to be resurrected to a perfect and blissful life everlasting).11
Van i tas
Flowers, butterflies and caterpillars occur in the Dutch still life as
representations of the classical vanitas motif. In art historical literature, the
meaning of the term vanitas relates to the aspects of vanity, emptiness and
transience of earthly life. The subject of the still life is mostly a precious,
fragile object, which represents transience. Moreover, the expense of the
painting itself, and thus its expression of the collector’s vanity, was also an
example of empty materialism. This was also true for the rare and exotic
flowers such as tulips, peonies and roses, which were also precious items at
that time, sometimes affording extraordinarily high prices. Ephemeral flowers
such as these, which lose their petals quickly, are a perfect example of
transience.
The symbolism of roses and peonies is also mentioned by Joachim
Camerarius, in Symbola et emblemata, commenting on the ‘Passing pleasure’,
Caduca Voluptas, of these flowers: ‘Just as this lovely rosé, with its
hundredfold flower, perishes, so will the glow of beauty and life soon pass
away’. The explanatory text about the peony States: ‘Even more beautiful,
though, is the peony from Spain, with its more than 500 petals. Rain and too
much sun cause its petals to fall. Superficial beauty is fragile, fading away
with age. Abundance soon dwindles to naught, life is vain and brief.’12
For an example of a vanitas still life painting I will turn to a Frisian painter
from Leeuwarden, Willem de Heer (c. 1638-1681), a nephew of the artist
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Margaretha de Heer (c. 1600 - c. 1665).13 His Still life with flowers, insectsviaand free access
Fig. 8 (left) a dead bird, dated to the last quarter of the 17th century (fig. 9), combines all
Johannes Goedaert
the main clements of a vanitas: flowers, roses and tulips; a dead bird; a cricket;
(1617-1668),
other small insects; a Caterpillar and butterflies. The small dead bird, lying on
Metamorphosis.
From: Segal, 1990,
its back with closed eyes and broken wings, is a most pitiful sight. The flowers
p.200 are depicted fully blown and just about to start dropping their petals.
In de Heer's painting it seems that only the Caterpillar and the butterflies are
F'g-9 able to offer hope. The Caterpillar, this earth-bound creature, representing the
Willem de Heer (c.1638-
earthly phase of man with his burden of sin, contains new life; one day, he
1681),
Still life with flowers, will shrug off his depraved nature, turn into a butterfly and soar up into the
insects and a dead bird, sky. Those who lead a pious life will be similarly transformed from a
Lastquarterofthe Caterpillar into a butterfly and rise to heaven.
i7th century,
Gouache on paper.
Fries Museum, Conclusion
Leeuwarden
The Dutch still life comprises the same clements of subject matter as Chinese
painting and ceramics designs containing flowers and butterflies. However,
the meaning and the message it conveys, coming from the divergent cultural
traditions, is quite different. Whereas the Chinese depictions of beautiful
flowers and colourful butterflies, with their connotations of sensuality,
represent pleasure for the eyes and for the mind, the Dutch still life confronts
the viewer with a moral choice. One represents the path of the soul in a
Christian sense, a spiritual route leading to heaven, and the other represents
the path of the material body indulging in sensory pleasures; appreciation of
the earthly and evanescent enjoyment of riches and luxury.*
* Dr. Eva Ströber is currently curator of Oriental ceramics at Keramiekmuseum
Princessehof, Leeuwarden. Before coming to the Netherlands she has worked at the
Porcelain Collection Dresden, Germany, as curator for the collection of Oriental
porcelain of Augustus the Strong. Her academie background is Chinese studies,
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Oriental art history and comparative religion.
via free access0 Literature
Avitabile, Gunhild, Vom Schatz der Drachen: From the Dragon’s Treasure. Chinese
Porcelain from the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection, London, 1987.
Breuker, Philippus, Peter Karstkarel and Veerle Mans, Margaretha de Heer (circa 1600 -
circa 1665), Fries Museum Leeuwarden, 2002.
Camerarius, Joachim, Symbola et emblemata, Nürnberg, 1590-1604.
Eberhard, Wolfram, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols, London/New York, 1986.
‘Among Flora and Fauna’, Kaikodo Journal V (1997), p. 148.
‘A natural selection’, Kaikodo Journal XIX (2001), pp. 70-71.
Laing, Ellen Johnston, ‘Notes on Ladies wearing flowers in their hair’, Orientations, 21/2
(1990), pp. 32-39.
Lu Shoukun, ‘Symbolism and Zen: A contemporary Chinese approach to abstract
painting’, Oriental Art, New Series, XIX-3 (1973), pp. 302-305.
Segal, Sam, Flowers and Nature: Netherlandish Flower Painting of Four Centuries,
Amsterdam, 1990.
Shafer, Edward, The Vermilion Bird: Tang Images of the South, Berkeley and Los
Angeles, 1967.
Wang Qingzheng, A Dictionary of Chinese Ceramics, Singapore, 2002.
Watson, Burton, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, New York, 1968.
Whitfield, Roderick, Fascination of Nature: Plants and Insects in Chinese Painting and
Ceramics of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Seoul, 1993.
Notes
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Harriet Impey for her language advice.
1. Photographs Keramiekmuseum Princessehof by Johan van der Veer.
2. See Whitfield, 1993, for motifs on ceramics, pp. 61-71.
3. Crickets are a popular and auspicious motif in art. One of the Chinese words for
them, xishuai, sounds similar to xi ‘happiness’, and xi ‘auspicious’. Together with
cicadas, crickets are associated with spring and summer, when people enjoy the
chirping of these insects. These insects were, and sometimes still are, kept as ‘pets’
in containers, mostly made of hollow gourds.
4. Eberhard, 1986, p. 52.
5. Compare the examples in Wang Qjngzheng, 2002, p. 91, and Avitabile 1987, pl. 8,
p. 24.
6. See Kaikodo Journal (1997), p. 148, footnote 3.
7. See Laing, 1998, pp. 32-39.
8. Shafer, 1967, p. 211.
9. On his ‘Zen paintings’ see Lu Shoukun, 1973, pp. 302-305.
10. For Dutch still lifes see Segal, 1990.
11. Quoted after Segal, 1990, p. 199.
12. Quoted after Segal, 1990, p. 157.
13. See the book and catalogue by Breuker, Karstkarel and Mans, 2002.
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