Ruby Butterfly Brooch, 2015-16
"The Annual Butterflies embody the ongoing metamorphosis of myself as an artist and the advancement of our techniques and craftsmanship" —Cindy Chao
I wrote a post about Beyoncé's Papillon ring which had been donated to the V&A museum (here), and was recently made aware of the work of art-jeweller Cindy Chao, and the butterfly-inspired pieces that she creates. To my eyes Chao's pieces are reminiscent of the work of Art Nouveau jewellery by masters of the discipline in that period like René Lalique and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Evidence of the hand of the maker is much more evident in Chao's idiosyncratic pieces though. Chao began making her butterflies in 2008 but struggled with funding her fledgling business. Chao triumphed over adversity however, and the first butterfly brooch she created - The Ruby Butterfly Brooch (below), now resides in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD) in Paris after being donated by its purchaser. “I thought, ‘my God, if this is going to be the last piece I was going to make, what is it going to be?’ I just felt like I was a butterfly. They are so beautiful and they live so briefly. I decided to make a butterfly because that was my mood at that moment. That’s why I made it in three dimensions and in 360 degrees.” The Ruby Butterfly Brooch consists of Burmese rubies on the wings, along with colored diamonds and color-changing sapphires. It is unusual in that it only shows two butterfly wings, whereas later designs of Chao's butterflies have the full complement of four wing sections. Chao creates just one butterfly piece annually, and all of her butterflies are created from a wax sculpting technique giving them their organic, free-flowing, asymmetric, sculptural form. That initial Ruby Butterfly eventually sold for $86,000 before being donated to MAD, enough to rescue her fledgling business, and see Chao go on to exhibit at major art/design fairs, set records at auctions of jewellery and receive international awards. Such is the clamour for Chao's pieces that they are unveiled to a privileged few collectors, and there is then a 3 year waiting list to acquire one.
The Ruby Butterfly Brooch, 2008
Perfection Butterfly Brooch, 2011
Transcendence Butterfly Brooch, 2012
Crimson Rose Butterfly Brooch 2018
Red Diamond Butterfly Brooch 2018 original watercolour design
Red Diamond Butterfly Brooch 2018
Ballerina Butterfly Brooch, 2013-14
The Black Label Masterpiece I “Aurora Butterfly Brooch” 2019
Royal Butterfly Brooch, 2009
Designer Cindy Chao with the Royal Butterfly Brooch
and the reverse of the Ruby Butterfly Brooch, 2008, below.
