Morning Glory (Ipomoea species)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting morning glory (Ipomoea species). The illustration features the plant's characteristic climbing habit with twining stems that spiral and curve. Three prominent trumpet-shaped flowers are displayed in various orientations, each exhibiting the distinctive funnel form with soft purple to lavender coloration that grades from deeper purple at the petal edges to pale lilac or white toward the throat. The flowers show the characteristic five-fold symmetry with subtle pleating. The heart-shaped leaves have cordate form and are arranged alternately along the green stems. The twining stems demonstrate the plant's vigorous climbing nature, with tendrils and natural curves that show how morning glories attach themselves to supports. A Chinese inscription at the lower right corner reads “qianniuhua 牽牛花”, morning glory. 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: 313 mm
Width: 398 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 bodycolour heightened with white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.15
Primary reference Number: 32424
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) "Morning Glory (Ipomoea species)" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32424 Accessed: 2025-12-05 19:10:16
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/32424
|title=Morning Glory (Ipomoea species)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 19:10:16|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-32424
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