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Blue butterfly, Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae), Amaranthus tricolor, and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara): 4205.4

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Blue butterfly, Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae), Amaranthus tricolor, and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

Maker(s)

Canton workshop

Entities

Categories

Description

A watercolour drawing from the album 4205. Assorted flowering plants and two butterflies. In the centre is Amaranthus tricolor with bright yellow, red, and green foliage. It is a native Chinese species. Purple bittersweet nightshade (Solandum dulcamara) are dotted around. There is a butterfly with blue, white, black, and yellow stripes on the stem of the bittersweet. The other white butterfly with black dots and stripes in the lower left corner could be Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae).

Measurements and weight

Height: 285 mm
Width: 290 mm

Place(s) associated

  • Guangzhou ⪼ Guangzhou ⪼ China

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1942) by De Vitré, John Durham Denis de

Dating

19th Century
Circa 1800 - Circa 1880

School or Style

Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour

Components of the work

Support composed of pith paper

Techniques used in production

Watercolour : Watercolour and body colour on pith paper

Identification numbers

Accession number: 4205.4
Primary reference Number: 317602
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Wednesday 25 September 2024 Updated: Friday 24 January 2025 Last processed: Saturday 22 March 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Blue butterfly, Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae), Amaranthus tricolor, and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317602 Accessed: 2025-04-06 07:53:39

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317602 |title=Blue butterfly, Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae), Amaranthus tricolor, and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-06 07:53:39|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-317602

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