Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting aibika, Abelmoschus manihot. The illustration features a tall branching stem with a large yellow hibiscus-like flower displaying five broad petals and a prominent red center with visible stamens, characteristic of the mallow family. Several green buds in various stages of development are visible along the upper portion of the stem, showing the ribbed calyx typical of Abelmoschus species. The plant displays the characteristic palmate leaves of aibika, with deeply lobed, hand-shaped foliage arranged alternately along the green stem. The leaves are rendered in various shades of green with prominent venation, showing the natural variation in leaf size and shape typical of this species. Some leaves show the distinctive three to five-lobed pattern characteristic of Abelmoschus manihot. A Chinese inscription at the lower left corner reads “huang shukui hua 黃蜀葵花”, aibika. 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: 312 mm
Width: 399 mm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Watercolour
Bodycolour
White bodycolour
Support composed of paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and some bodycolour heightened with white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.5
Primary reference Number: 32414
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) "Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32414 Accessed: 2025-12-07 07:38:15
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32414
|title=Aibika (Abelmoschus manihot)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-07 07:38:15|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-32414
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