Poppy
Painting
1770-1790 (made)
1770-1790 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painting of a poppy is from a set of 24, each inscribed with the Chinese name of the plant. Unfamiliar flora and fauna were of great interest to British botanists in the 18th and 19th centuries, and such enthusiasm gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers often returned to Britain with foreign plants and, more commonly, paintings depicting numerous species of tropical flowers and fruits.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and ink on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, "Poppy", watercolours on paper, Guangzhou, China, 1770-1790 |
| Physical description | Rectangular watercolour painting depicting two flower plants, each with two pink flower heads and surrounded by long green, linear leaves. The ground largely plain except for the inferrence of a clif edge which the plants grow from. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Object history | Unfamiliar flora and fauna had strong appeal to British botanists in the 18th century, and such interest gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers brought back to Britain foreign plants and more commonly, paintings depicting the numerous species of tropical flowers and fruits. This painting of a poppy is from a set of 24, each inscribed with the Chinese name of the plant. Purchased from E. Parsons, accessioned in 1889. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This painting of a poppy is from a set of 24, each inscribed with the Chinese name of the plant. Unfamiliar flora and fauna were of great interest to British botanists in the 18th and 19th centuries, and such enthusiasm gradually filtered down to the general public. Travellers often returned to Britain with foreign plants and, more commonly, paintings depicting numerous species of tropical flowers and fruits. |
| Bibliographic reference | Souvenir from Canton : Chinese export paintings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Shanghai, 2003
222 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | D.1292-1889 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | October 30, 2002 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
