The Gathering of Mulberry Leaves and the Feeding of the Silkworms, Plate 5 from "The Introduction of the Silkworm" [Vermis Sericus] 1595

Editor: So, this is Karel van Mallery’s engraving from 1595, "The Gathering of Mulberry Leaves and the Feeding of the Silkworms." It's incredibly detailed. I’m struck by the depiction of labor and the overall composition seems quite busy. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The immediate image is of human industry and nature's bounty intertwined. However, if you examine it through a symbolic lens, you see an image dense with cultural memory, referencing ancient techniques, even mythologies involving the creation of silk, linking it to notions of luxury, wealth, and transformation. Note the layering of space; do you think that the artist did it simply to create a believable depiction? Editor: Probably not, now that you mention it. It's like they're almost stages, with the mulberry harvest happening in the "backstage," so to speak. Then, the shelves filled with leaves and silkworms are in the main scene. It is a carefully laid-out theatre. Curator: Exactly. Look at the women on different tiers within the architecture. From a symbolic perspective, the scene's layers serve a much higher cultural aim. The artist portrays them at multiple stages. We can almost read time through their actions. Think about silk production; isn't it considered transformative across cultures? Editor: Definitely, a transformation from something so small and almost repulsive into beautiful fabric. It’s interesting to view labor depicted not as a simple act, but something tied to cycles, wealth, and this idea of metamorphosis. It definitely gives you a new way of thinking about it! Curator: It's an invitation to look beyond the surface and decipher the underlying messages communicated through visual elements, isn't it? Hopefully, museum visitors can see this image, which might seem at first glance just like a narrative of labor, is rich with layers of symbolic importance, that tie it to both nature and time.