IDENTIFIERS
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id:	32412
accession number:	PD.133-1973.3

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 a tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum). The illustration features a single branching stem with several small purple flowers displaying the characteristic five-petaled form with yellow stamens typical of the nightshade family. The plant shows tomato fruits in various stages of ripeness - green immature fruits at the top and middle, and a ripe orange-red tomato in the lower part. The plant displays the typical compound leaves of tomatoes, with deeply lobed leaflets arranged along the stems. The leaves are rendered in various shades of green with prominent white venation. The stem appears sturdy and slightly hairy, characteristic of tomato plants. A Chinese inscription at the lower left corner reads “qie hua茄花”, tomato plant. 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/32412


SUBJECTS
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plant
plant



TECHNIQUES
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watercolour 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