IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 317602 accession number: 4205.4 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Wednesday 25 September 2024 updated: Thursday 28 August 2025 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: A watercolour drawing from the album 4205. This botanical illustration features Amaranthus tricolor at its center, displaying vibrant yellow, red, and green foliage characteristic of this native Chinese species. The Amaranthus stems are artfully arranged and show the plant's distinctive star-shaped leaf patterns. Purple bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) flowers and buds are scattered throughout the composition, adding contrasting colour and form. Two butterflies animate the scene: one specimen with distinctive blue, white, black, and yellow stripes is perched on a bittersweet nightshade stem, while what appears to be a Gossamer-winged butterfly (Lycaenidae) with delicate white wings marked by black dots and stripes rests in the lower left corner. The artwork shows meticulous attention to botanical and entomological details, particularly in the rendering of the Amaranthus's complex coloration and the intricate patterns on the butterflies' wings. The natural features of each species are carefully documented, from the veination of leaves to the precise markings of the insects. The illustration combines scientific accuracy with artistic composition, characteristic of Chinese natural history paintings of this period. title: drawing LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/317602 TECHNIQUES ---------- watercolour and body colour on pith paper watercolour CATEGORIES ------ category: album DATING ------ creation date: 1800 - 1880 creation date earliest: 1800 creation date latest: 1880 culture: 19th Century CREATORS -------- maker: Canton workshop DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Height units: mm value: 285 dimension: Width units: mm value: 290