Picture Details
Turmeric flower, watercolour and pencil on paper.
Partner:
Kew GardensImage reference:
ILLUS170.1/15.0WOrigin:
IndiaArtist / Date:
Bijlall, 1809Donor / Date:
1867Size:
263 x 235 mmDescription:
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Painted on European paper, this is the work of a Hindu artist, possibly under the instruction of Francis Hamilton, (nee Buchanan) who was Superintendent of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, 1814-15. The Botanic Garden of Calcutta was first established in 1786, based on the private gardens of Colonel Kyd. By 1840 the gardens had amassed around 3500 species, a great quantity of which had been described by European scientists and painted by local artists. The creation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 had already provided a forum for European naturalists in Calcutta, and botany was of particular interest although the study of India's wildlife was nothing new; the Mughal Emperors had long since commissioned artists and writers to document the fauna and flora of their kingdom.
