Dona Maria de la Concepcion butterfly

Dona Maria de la Concepcion butterfly
The XVIII Duke de Plasencia and Dona Maria de la Concepcion lived during the very turbulent and politically unstable years of the Spanish Civil War. They first met in Madrid, by chance on the terrace of the Hotel Universal in 1931, where it was love at first sight. Yet the political situation separated them; the Duke was forced to take refuge in the Romanian embassy while Dona Maria de la Concepcion left for San Sebastian in the north of Spain.
Only twenty years later did they finally marry, in the famous Chapel of Santiago de Compostela. Duke gave this brooch to Dona Maria de la Concepcion during one of their rare encounters in Biarritz, during their time apart. A symbolic gift, the butterfly’s wings represented freedom from the difficult political situation. Also, it was a symbol of their oath and commitment to one another.

Some more butterfly inspired brooches:

Many ancient civilizations believed that butterflies are a symbol of the human soul. The Greeks believed that with the advent of the newly born, human soul is born out of the cocoon of adult butterfly. In ancient times, Europeans believed that after death the human soul took the form of butterflies and moths, so, they were treated with great respect and even fear. Northern Europeans believed that dreams are the result of butterfly-soul wandering through other worlds.

In southern Germany, believed that the dead are reborn like children, in the form of flying butterflies. The Irish believe that the butterfly – the souls of the dead in anticipation of the passage through purgatory.

In the Japanese and Chinese cultures, the butterfly symbolized the joy and happiness. And in Japan and China, butterflies were mentioned in the manuscripts, portrayed in paintings and drawings for centuries.

In some tribes in Mexico butterfly is a symbol of fertility of the land and the process of transformation from a caterpillar into a chrysalis, the butterfly is a symbol of rebirth, recovery, happiness and joy.

For the Indians Mayan butterfly represented the spirits of the dead soldiers, disguised as butterflies that go down to the ground. In the dying in the Solomon Islands have a choice about who he will be after death and dying often chooses a butterfly.

When the butterfly dies, it means that some soul is dying. The Aztecs believed that the happy dead from the other world, in the form of beautiful butterflies visit their relatives in order to convince them that they are happy in the world of dead.