Study of a grass with caterpillars, moths and a beetle
Draughtsman: Canton workshop
This is a Chinese natural history illustration showing various insects on plant stems. The composition features a large black and orange moth at the top right, positioned on a delicate green stem. Below it are several other specimens including a white butterfly on the left, a caterpillar in brown and black stripes, and a small beetle. The insects are arranged around plant stem. The painting is executed in the style typical of Chinese export natural history art from around the late 18th or early 19th century, with careful attention to both scientific detail and aesthetic arrangement. The artwork demonstrates the Chinese artists' skill in combining accurate natural observation with decorative composition, created to appeal to Western collectors and naturalists of the period.
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton
19th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1810
Support
composed of
paper
Paper
Height 191 mm
Width 251 mm
Watercolour : Watercolour and bodycolour on paper
Accession number: PD.259-1973
Primary reference Number: 23101
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Study of a grass with caterpillars, moths and a beetle" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/23101 Accessed: 2025-04-03 11:28:07
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/23101
|title=Study of a grass with caterpillars, moths and a beetle
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-03 11:28:07|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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