"Symbol."

Three beetles - one large and centered, two smaller flanking it - are arranged symmetrically against a flat black ground. Each insect's rounded shell and thorax are covered in dense blue floral and scroll motifs on a white ground, recalling painted porcelain, while the legs and antennae are gilded and raised toward the viewer.

The cobalt-and-white china pattern is built with small, precise strokes over a warm gold underlayer, while the jointed legs and antennae are painted with metallic ochre highlights that catch the light like real gilding. Set against total darkness, the trio reads as decorative curios rather than living creatures, giving the picture a still, ornamental strangeness.