Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit), commonly known as cardinal climber or hummingbird vine. The illustration features the plant's characteristic climbing habit with multiple branching stems that twist and spiral. The deeply dissected foliage with thread-like segments that create an almost fern-like appearance, giving the plant its feathery, ornamental quality that distinguishes it from other Ipomoea species. The small tubular flowers are scattered along the stems, each rendered in bright coral-pink to red tones with star-shaped face. The flowers are shown in different stages of development, from tight buds to fully opened blossoms. 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.
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support
composed of
paper
Paper
Height 313 mm
Width 397 mm
Watercolour : Watercolour heightened with white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.11
Primary reference Number: 32420
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) "Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32420 Accessed: 2025-12-25 02:05:22
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32420
|title=Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-25 02:05:22|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-32420
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