Chinese Windmill Butterfly (Byasa plutonius), Bee, Camellia and Squash Blossom
A watercolour drawing from the album 4205. The composition features a central arrangement of pink camellia flowers with layered petals, showing skillful use of white body colour to create depth and dimension. These lush camellias are surrounded by bright yellow squash blossoms with their distinctive star-shaped flowers and characteristic vine leaves. The insects include a striking black butterfly with orange-red markings in the upper left, which appears to be a Chinese windmill butterfly (Byasa plutonius), characterized by its distinctive wing pattern. A delicately rendered bee is positioned in the upper right corner of the composition.The artwork shows meticulous attention to botanical and entomological details, particularly in the rendering of the camellia's complex petal structure and the butterfly's wing patterns. The green leaves are depicted with careful attention to their natural veination and different shapes typical of both camellia and squash plants. The illustration combines scientific accuracy with artistic composition, characteristic of Chinese natural history paintings of this period.
Height: 190 mm
Width: 290 mm
Method of acquisition: Given (1942) by De Vitré, John Durham Denis de
19th Century
Circa
1800
-
Circa
1880
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support composed of pith paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and bodycolour on pith paper
Accession number: 4205.3
Primary reference Number: 317601
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) "Chinese Windmill Butterfly (Byasa plutonius), Bee, Camellia and Squash Blossom" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317601 Accessed: 2025-12-05 13:41:31
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317601
|title=Chinese Windmill Butterfly (Byasa plutonius), Bee, Camellia and Squash Blossom
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 13:41:31|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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