IDENTIFIERS
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id:	32410
accession number:	PD.133-1973.1

DATE AUDIT
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created:	Saturday 6 August 2011
updated:	Thursday 28 August 2025

DESCRIPTIVE DATA
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object type: This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting an iris (Iris species). The illustration features a single plant with two opened iris flowers displaying the characteristic form with six petals - three upright standards and three drooping falls. The flowers show blue outer petals with yellow and pink centers, and pink buds are visible on the flowering stem. The plant displays the typical sword-like leaves of iris, long and narrow with parallel venation, rendered in various shades of green. Some leaves show yellowing at the tips, indicating natural aging. The plant grows from a visible rhizome at the base with fibrous roots extending below. A Chinese inscription at the lower right corner reads “yegan hua射干花”, iris. The painting demonstrates the fine brushwork characteristic of Chinese export art from the late 18th or early 19th century, combining traditional Chinese flower-and-bird painting style and Western botanical illustration.
title:	drawing

LICENSING
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text license status:	CC0
image license status:	CC-BY-NC-SA

OWNERSHIP
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instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum
department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints
collection:	Broughton Collection

STABLE URL
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url:	https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32410


SUBJECTS
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plant
plant



TECHNIQUES
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watercolour and some bodycolour heightened with white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
watercolour

CATEGORIES
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category: drawing

DATING
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culture:	19th Century

CREATORS
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maker: Canton workshop