This pair of butterfly hangings was used on a Peranakan wedding bed as symbols of love and conjugal bliss. Like many items that were associated with the wedding, they were commissioned or purchased in pairs, as the number ‘two’ is considered auspicious by the Peranakans and Chinese. Auspicious hangings were used on wedding beds to bless the marriage in the hope that the first-born will be a son that will carry on the family name. Examples of these include prawns, fish, crabs, butterflies, rodents, flowers such as the peony in full bloom and scrolling foliage.
