Franz Collection | Papillon Butterfly | Creamer | Porcelain | XP1947 | Designed by Jen Woo

Franz built its reputation on the proposition that a functional object need not choose between use and wonder — and in the best pieces, it manages both without effort.

Franz Collection was established in Taiwan in 1993 and quickly developed an international following for porcelain that merges functional tableware with sculptural decoration of unusual ambition. The Papillon Butterfly series — designed by Jen Woo, one of the company’s principal artists — remains among the most recognisable and widely collected of its output. Defined by finely modelled three-dimensional elements, hand-painted surfaces, and an organic, nature-led palette, the series represents Franz at its most assured.

The creamer, pattern number XP1947, forms part of a broader service that includes teapots, sugar bowls, cups and saucers, and decorative accessories — each piece conceived as part of a coherent sculptural whole.

The form is low and rounded, rising from a wide ringed foot glazed in soft mauve-pink. The body is finished in graduated tones of warm cream and pale celadon, with brushed green leaf forms moving across the shoulder. At the junction of handle and body, two applied white narcissus blooms with yellow centres introduce a naturalistic focal point.

The handle rises as a slender mauve-pink stem, terminating at the rim in a finely modelled butterfly with raised wings. The wings are hand-painted in amber and warm brown tones with darker veining, while the body is rendered in a deep brownish-purple. The spout is formed as a natural extension of the body’s contour, maintaining the fluidity of the design. The interior is glazed in a warm cream tone.

The base carries the blue underglaze Franz mark, the red seal stamp, and the impressed designer signature for Jen Woo.
There are no chips, cracks, or repairs. The applied butterfly and floral elements are intact, and the painted surfaces remain bright and unfaded.

• Grade: Excellent
• Maker: Franz Collection, Taiwan
• Designer: Jen Woo
• Series: Papillon Butterfly
• Pattern Number: XP1947
• Form: Creamer
• Material: Hand-painted porcelain
• Period: 2000s
• Height: 9 cm
• Length: 12 cm
• Width: 8.5 cm
• Weight: 147 g
• Marks: Blue underglaze Franz mark; red seal stamp; designer signature

Collector Appeal

Part of the widely collected Papillon Butterfly series, this creamer appeals both as a standalone cabinet piece and as a component within a larger service. Collectors of Franz porcelain often build across forms, with individual pieces becoming increasingly desirable when assembling complete or display-ready groupings.

The Papillon range remains one of the most commercially successful and visually distinctive lines produced by Franz, valued for its sculptural treatment and consistency across the series. Examples in excellent condition, with intact applied elements and clear factory marks, are particularly sought after.

There is a long tradition of making useful things unnecessary to look at — Franz spent thirty years arguing the opposite case.