Lychee
Painting
1795-1820 (made)
1795-1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This painting of lychees is done on English 'Whatman' paper, specially imported for its quality. Exotic 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 | |
| Title | Lychee (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolours on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, 'Lychee (Litchi Chinensis Soon)', watecolours on European paper, Guagzhou, China, c.1795-1820 |
| Physical description | Painting of a botanical illustration on plain ground. On a central stem, small red, circular fruits grow. The ovate green leaves grow tightly around the stem and flower. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Whatman 1794' (watermark; paper) |
| Object history | Leaves compound, 2-4 inches long, lighter below, very pale green or pink when young. Flowers greenish white or yellowish, without petals. Calyx small, cup-shaped, 4-5 toothed. Produces bright red round fruits with white jelly-like edible pulp enclosing a smooth brown seed inside. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This painting of lychees is done on English 'Whatman' paper, specially imported for its quality. Exotic 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
225 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1755-1924 |
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| Record created | October 17, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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