King Silk Art Handmade Embroidery Colorful Butterfly 33016

King Silk Art makes silk embroidery wall art, 100% hand-stitched by Master Artists in Suzhou, China. Our artwork, Susho, is completely natural, created with tiny needles and pure silk thread. Susho is a 2500 year old family tradition, with a unique and fascinating history.

In Chinese symbology, irises are the dancing spirits of the early part of summer, and the petals are symbolic of butterfly wings, free and flying in the wind. Irises are called "Purple Butterflies"

Centuries ago, when Susho began to evolve from home furnishing and clothing, the Emperor and his court wanted wall art to decorate their palaces. The aristocrats favored natural scenes, wanting to capture the detail and texture of flora and fauna. Susho artists learned to please the taste of the elites, by making natural scenes as realistic as possible.

Symbolically, the images were meant to permanently capture the essences and benefits of the subjects. Even an Emperor cannot keep an iris alive forever, but capturing its soul in silk will make it a captive, eternally.