Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting Calendula officinalis (pot marigold). The illustration features multiple branching stems with several bright yellow and orange composite flowers displaying the characteristic form with numerous ray petals surrounding central disc florets. The flowers are shown in various stages - some fully opened blooms with vibrant yellow-orange petals and prominent centers, and several green buds in different stages of development. The plant displays alternate leaves arranged along the green stems. The leaves are lance-shaped to oblong with slightly serrated edges and prominent venation, rendered in various shades of green. The branching pattern shows the typical growth habit of Calendula, with multiple flower heads terminating the branched stems and buds developing along the length of the stems. A Chinese inscription at the lower left corner reads “xiao jinju 小金菊”, pot marigold. 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.
Height: 316 mm
Width: 401 mm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support composed of paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and some bodycolour on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.4
Primary reference Number: 32413
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) "Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32413 Accessed: 2025-12-07 03:18:37
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32413
|title=Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-07 03:18:37|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-32413
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...