Franz Porcelain Collection | Papillon Butterfly | Butterfly Spoon | FZ00142 | Designed by Jen Woo | Sculpted by Ming Lei | c.2003

Franz Porcelain Collection | Papillon Butterfly | Butterfly Spoon | FZ00142 | Designed by Jen Woo | Sculpted by Ming Lei | c.2003

Small things rarely carry this much intention.

The spoon is formed as a slender, gently tapering stem that opens into a shallow oval bowl at one end, rising at the other into a fully sculptural grouping. A narcissus bloom, rendered in cream with a yellow centre, supports a butterfly poised mid-rest, its wings spread in warm orange-peach tones with brown veining and white-spotted tips.

The stem is glazed in soft green with fine incised veining, shifting through celadon into ivory at the bowl. The interior graduates from ivory to a pale celadon-blue wash at the tip. The underside carries the underglaze blue Franz mark together with the red seal stamp.

The piece is in mint, unused condition. There are no chips, cracks, or losses of any kind. All sculptural elements remain crisp and intact. The original Franz presentation box is included.

Key Details

• Maker: Franz Porcelain Collection
• Series: Papillon Butterfly
• Design number: FZ00142
• Designer: Jen Woo
• Sculptor: Ming Lei
• Form: Spoon
• Material: Porcelain
• Date: c.2003
• Weight: 12g
• Condition: Mint, unused
• Box: Original Franz presentation box, included

Collector Appeal

The spoon combines a delicately modelled butterfly and a narcissus bloom at the finial, extending the Papillon pattern’s botanical decoration into a small sculptural form. The original box accompanies this unused example.

Other ‘Papillon Butterfly’ pieces from the shop: teapot, tray, creamer, lidded sugar jar and teacup, saucer and spoon.

The smallest pieces often leave the clearest record of how carefully something was made.