Symbols of love & partnership around the world

Mandarin ducks & lotus

China

Marital fidelity and harmonious partnership.

In gifts: Two in Bloom

Chima-jogori silhouette

North Korea

Cultural belonging and life ceremonies.

Double Happiness character

China

Marital harmony and shared happiness.

Jamdani weave (original construction study)

Bangladesh

Dignity, cultural identity and accomplished craftsmanship.

Lefkaritika lace (bounded linen cutwork construction study)

Cyprus

Careful craftsmanship, local identity and continuity.

Agaseke basket

Rwanda

Gift giving and, in contemporary accounts, peace through working together.

In gifts: Small Graces

Violin and guitar-family ensemble-component study in Morna context

Cabo Verde

Lyrics explore love, separation, reunion, longing, the sea and home; individual works carry different emotions.

Irish harp

Ireland

Irish identity, cultural continuity and connection across differences.

Licitar heart

Croatia

Love, wedding blessings and affection between people.

Murrine glass cane slices (process study)

Italy

Shared memories, developing skill and individual creativity.

Plisi white felt cap

Kosovo

Albanian cultural identity and family craftsmanship.

Welsh lovespoon

United Kingdom

Care, loyalty and personal affection, with multiple possible readings of individual motifs.

Zmijanje original deep-blue counted embroidery study

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Local identity, pride and emotional connections maintained after displacement.

Cempasúchil marigold

Mexico

Life, death and remembrance in Mexican commemorative celebrations.

In gifts: Held in Light

Double Chaconia selected-cultivar natural-form study

Trinidad and Tobago

Continuity of life and the nation in the foreign ministry's interpretation.

Flor de maga

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican cultural identity and preservation of local flora.

Gold five-point star component study in Suriname civic context

Suriname

Unity, hope and a shared future in a modern Surinamese government interpretation.

Kantuta (natural Cantua buxifolia branch)

Bolivia

A national symbol; official descriptions emphasize regional unity and intercultural connections when it is intertwined with the patujú flower.

Patujú (natural pendant Heliconia rostrata inflorescence)

Bolivia

A national symbol that represents regional unity and intercultural relationships when linked with kantuta.

Nēnē

Hawaiʻi

Native biodiversity and conservation; companionship is a contemporary interpretation grounded in parenting behavior.

In gifts: Side by Side

Naupaka kahakai

Hawaiʻi

Separation and longing in varying lovers' stories; reunion is an editorial wish rather than a universal historical or botanical claim.

Heart

Cross-cultural

Love and care, including affection for partners, family and friends.

In gifts: Two in Bloom

Linked rings

Cross-cultural

Historically, marital connection; partnership is a contemporary extension.

In gifts: Two in Bloom

Engraver’s burin and incised-plate study

Intaglio printmaking; bounded European museum-history context

The Met explains the steel cutting end and palm handle. Getty’s discussion emphasizes tools adjusted to an engraver’s hand and practice. The motif represents a working tool and an original, otherwise blank plate, rather than a copied print.

Foliose lichen rosette study

Bark, rock and soil habitats worldwide

Modern editorial interpretation: A modern image of a shared form arising through different partners.

Gimballed marine-chronometer study

Precision marine timekeeping, with a British historical reference and subsequent international use

A precision instrument supporting navigation through time comparison; no promise that gimbals alone guarantee accuracy.