One of the oldest of the toy Spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. A papillon with dropped ears is called a phalène (French for moth). The small head is slightly rounded between the ears with a well defined stop. The dark, medium sized, round eyes have thin black rims, often extending at the junction of the eyelids towar
ds the ears. The large ears can either be erect or dropped with rounded tips. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. The long tail is set high carried over the body, and covered with long, fine hair. Dewclaws are sometimes removed. The straight, long, fine, single coat has extra frill on the chest, ears, back of the legs and the tail. Coat color is white with patches of any color. A mask of a color other than white covers both ears and eyes from back to front. History
The history of the papillon is traced through works of art. The earliest toy spaniels resembling the papillon are found in Italy. Tiziano Vicelli painted these small dogs in many famous paintings beginning around 1500 including the Venus of Urbino (1542). Other well known artists who included them in paintings are Watteau, Gonzalez Coques, Fragonard, Paolo Veronese, and Mignard. In a painting after Largillierre in the Wallace Collection in London, a papillon is clearly shown in a family portrait of Louis XIV. Papillons are also in paintings of royal families around Europe and paintings of merchant class families. The breed was popular in England, France, and Belgium, which are considered countries of origin by the FCI.
