Ginger Lily (Hedychium species)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting a ginger lily (Hedychium species), commonly known as butterfly ginger or garland flower. The illustration features a flowering stem displaying the species' characteristic white blooms arranged in a terminal spike. Prominent orange-yellow stamens extend out from the centre, creating the butterfly-like appearance that gives the plant one of its common names. A Chinese inscription at the lower right corner reads “yejianghua 薑花”, ginger lily. 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
Watercolour
Bodycolour
White bodycolour
Graphite
Support
composed of
paper
Paper
Height 320 mm
Width 400 mm
Watercolour : Watercolour and bodycolour over graphite outline heightened with white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.14
Primary reference Number: 32423
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) "Ginger Lily (Hedychium species)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32423 Accessed: 2025-12-06 15:21:53
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32423
|title=Ginger Lily (Hedychium species)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 15:21:53|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-32423
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