Chinese Entomological Study of an Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas)

China, c. 1805
Watercolour on Whatman paper
40cm high, 29cm wide
Stock no.: A5895

Provenance: From a London bookshop, acquired 30 to 50 years ago

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Watercolours like this study of a moth were made across Asia in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were commissioned by Britons, often in the employ of the East India Company, and painted by local artists. These watercolour studies were then sent on ships, alongside specimens, to the universities and botanical gardens of Europe for the purposes study. Not only did these paintings serve as valuable scientific documentation of new flora and fauna in a pre-photographic age, but they were also a vital part of empire building. Britain’s wealth relied on plants such as cotton, spices, indigo, tobacco, opium, and tea. Discovering new species and transplanting them to British colonies to be cultivated could prove profitable.¹ As such, many of the flora and fauna documented in these watercolours are those with medicinal, gastronomical, or industrial uses.

This striking watercolour depicts an atlas moth, or giant Chinese silk moth. The painting is a near life-size depiction of the insect, which has a wingspan of 24cm, the third largest of any lepidopteran.² This is the female of the species, with the male having broad, feathery antennae. The white fleshy spines on the abdomen of the moth show that this moth is in a later stage of its lifespan. The triangular windows in each of the four wings, through which the plant behind can be seen, are thought to reflect light to scare predators. It also uses its elongated wing tips as a defence mechanism, shaking them to imitate a snake’s head.³The texture of the wings is particularly well observed. Minute brush strokes create the soft, velvety texture of the moth’s scales.
Not only does this colourful study make a highly attractive piece of art, but it also represents a valuable industry. The cocoons of the Atlas moth larvae are used in Asia to make silk, known as etles or fagara. This practice is particularly common amongst the Uyghur people of Xinjian. The silk is traditionally coloured with natural dyes, like walnut bark and saffron. Unlike traditional silk produced by the silkworm Bombyx mori, atlas silk is fibrous and coarse, creating warm, wool-like textiles.⁴

The process of total metamorphosis undergone between larval stage and adulthood has led to an association with the cycle of death and rebirth. They also appear in traditional Chinese folktales, like The Butterfly Lovers or Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, where they are a symbol of love and fidelity.⁵ The inclusion of insects may also serve a scientific purpose, documenting the plants’ pests and pollinators.

This watercolour is painted on Whatman paper watermarked 1805, providing the terminus post quem for these studies. Though the paper could have been stored and used at a later date, pith was preferred for Chinese botanical paintings from c. 1820, suggesting that this group dates from between 1805 and 1820.⁶

[1] ‘China Trade Album’, Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved online from https://collections.sea.museum/en/objects/164143/china-trade-album--tea-manufacture on 06/12/24.
[2] Kons, Hugo (Jr.). 'Largest Lepidopteran Wing Span', The Unviersity of Florida Book of Insect Records. Department of Entomology and Nematology: 1998. Retrieved online from https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/ufbir/chapters/chapter_32.shtmlon 02/11/2024.
[3] Sargent, Channing. ‘How the Atlas Moth Imitates Snakes to Ward Off Threats’, One Earth (2022). Retrieved online via https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-atlas-moth/ on 06/12/2024.
[4] Reddy, Narendra, Yi Zhao, and Yigi Yang. ‘Structure and Properties of Cocoons and Silk Fibers Produced by the Attacus Atlas’, Journal of Polymers and the Environment 21 (2013), pp. 16-23.
[5] Yin, Tongyun. ‘Butterflies in the Asian Wing’, Harn Museum of Art. Retrieved online from https://harn.ufl.edu/resources/those-butterflies-in-the-asian-wing/#:~:text=Butterflies%20have%20long%20been%20appreciated,are%20often%20likened%20to%20blossoms on 06/01/2025.
[6] Endersby, Jim. Imperial Nature: Joseph Hooker and the Practices of Victorian Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. pp 17-18.

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