It began in Canton , the southern port where beauty first took flight.
From the 18th century, Chinese porcelain left this harbor for Europe, inspiring an era the West called Chinoiserie.
Delicate brushstrokes of peony and butterfly crossed oceans, capturing the imagination of artists, collectors, and royals alike.
That butterfly still flies , across time, across cities, carrying stories of exchange, artistry, and wonder.
Scene 01 , Origins: From Canton to Imari
Canton (today’s Guangzhou) was China’s first window to the world , the birthplace of global porcelain trade.
From the 1700s, Chinese artisans painted scenes of gardens, clouds, and butterflies on fine ceramics for export to Europe.
Their craftsmanship shaped the European fantasy of the East , the elegant aesthetic known as Chinoiserie.
By the late 17th century, Japan’s Hizen kilns in Arita, under the name Imari ware, took inspiration from these Chinese exports.
Their bold coral reds, night blues, and golds reimagined the Canton style for aristocratic homes in Europe.
From Canton’s kilns to Imari’s flame, beauty learned to travel.
Scene 02 , New York: The Modern Glow
Centuries later, the porcelain spirit found new form in New York.
The Art Deco age turned its curves into architecture , skyscrapers of glass and gold echoing ancient balance and proportion.
Like the butterfly, beauty adapted to its time: refined, structured, and luminous.
In a city carved from light, patterns unfold like living gold.
Scene 03 , Paris: The Language of Light
In 19th- and early 20th-century Paris, Chinoiserie returned as muse.
Designers and jewelers translated porcelain’s elegance into crystal, silk, and couture.
The dialogue between East and West became a shared vocabulary , blending precision with poetry.
In Paris, beauty becomes translation.
Scene 04 , Return to Porcelain
And then , calm again.
The butterfly returns to porcelain: white and blue, soft and timeless.
Each era has left its mark on her wings , Canton’s origin, Imari’s flame, New York’s light, Paris’s grace.
She is no longer just a decoration, but a memory of how art connects worlds.
Porcelain becomes wings; beauty becomes bridge.
