Skip to main content

Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus: PD.116-1973.6

An image of Drawing
View image details

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Drawing
An image of Drawing
Current Location: In storage

Titles

Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus
The least climbing Torch-Thistle with soft spines and a purple flower (Miller)

Maker(s)

Draughtsman: Ehret, Georg Dionysius

Entities

Categories

Measurements and weight

Height: 525 mm
Width: 360 mm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton

Dating

1740s
Production date: AD 1745

School or Style

German

Materials used in production

Watercolour
Bodycolour

Components of the work

Support composed of vellum (skin)

Techniques used in production

Watercolour : Watercolour and bodycolour on vellum

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: CEREUS minums scandeus polygonus / spinosissimus flore purpureo. Miller
  • Location: Below
  • Method of creation: Ink

Inscription present: faint

  • Text: 119
  • Location: Upper right
  • Method of creation: Graphite
  • Text: G.D. Ehret. Pinxt.
  • Location: Lower right
  • Method of creation: Ink
  • Type: Signature
  • Text: 1745
  • Location: Lower right, following the above
  • Method of creation: Ink
  • Type: Date

Identification numbers

Accession number: PD.116-1973.6
Primary reference Number: 31601

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 15 October 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/31601 Accessed: 2025-12-05 13:05:36

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/31601 |title=Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 13:05:36|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-31601

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/pdp/pdp13/PD_116_1973_6.jpg"
        alt="Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Aporocactus flagelliformis, or rat’s tail cactus</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo