Suzani "Butterflies"

Middle Asia. Middle Asia. Hand embroidery with silk on self-woven fabric. Size 100x88 cm. Excellent quality! Suzane is a hand-embroidered canvas in a special way. When framed in a baguette, a wonderful amulet picture with a deep meaning is obtained. The butterfly is a symbol of the soul, immortality, rebirth and resurrection, the ability to transform, to transform, since this winged celestial creature is born, transforming from a worldly caterpillar. Butterfly is considered a symbol of the Great Goddess (Great Mother, Magna Mater). The image of the Great Goddess dates back to ancient times in the history of mankind, to the Paleolithic. This supreme deity personified both heaven and earth, life and death. Birds and flying insects were associated with the Great Goddess. One of the insects representing the goddess was the butterfly. Hence the belief that witches can turn into butterflies, that butterflies promote conception and portend war. In China, this winged creature denotes immortality, leisure in abundance, joy and summer. A butterfly depicted with a plum symbolizes longevity and beauty, with a chrysanthemum - beauty in old age, with a feather - longevity. In addition, in many cultures, a butterfly symbolizes the transient nature of joy. The image of a butterfly is found in Taoist parables. So the philosopher Chuang Tzu once saw himself in a dream as a butterfly. When he woke up, he could not understand: Chuang Tzu had dreamed that he was a butterfly, or was the butterfly now dreaming that she was Chuang Tzu? Another story told by Chuang Tzu tells how a young scholar, chasing a beautiful butterfly, inadvertently entered the private property of a retired judge and, seeing his daughter, was so mesmerized by her charms that he decided to work hard and try to get her as a wife. In this he succeeded and rose to a high rank. Here, the butterfly is a sign of marital happiness, one might say, the Chinese Cupid. Among the Japanese, a butterfly symbolizes a young woman, and butterflies fluttering one around the other mean family happiness. In ancient Mexico, the butterfly belonged to the attributes of the god of vegetation, spring and love, the "Prince of Flowers" Xochipilha. In addition, she was associated with the Sun and was a symbol of swaying fire. The butterfly cut off with stone knives (itzli) is the goddess Itzpapalotl, the “Obsidian Butterfly”, the night spirit of flaming stars and at the same time a symbol of the souls of women who died during childbirth. The ancient Greeks considered the butterfly a symbol of the immortality of the soul. Psyche, whose name means "soul", was represented as a girl with butterfly wings. In Christianity, the stages of development of butterflies represent life, death and resurrection, so the butterfly is sometimes depicted in the hand of the infant Christ, which symbolizes the rebirth and resurrection of the soul. In the paintings depicting life in paradise, the soul has such wings, which the Creator places in the body of Adam. In German-Scandinavian mythology, elves, the spirits of the air, were depicted as beautiful little men with butterfly wings. Among the Slavs, first of all, ideas about the soul are associated with a butterfly. People often talk about a butterfly as the soul of the deceased or a harbinger of death, and sometimes an image of death.