Green Orchid (Abelmoschus manihot)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting a green orchid (Orchidaceae species). The illustration features a single plant with a tall flowering spike displaying several pale yellow-green orchid flowers with the characteristic three-petaled form and small red centers typical of many terrestrial orchids. The flowers are arranged in a loose raceme along the central stem, with some buds visible at the top of the spike. The plant displays long, strap-like leaves radiating from the base in a fan-like arrangement, characteristic of many orchid species. The leaves are rendered in various shades of green with prominent parallel venation, showing the typical linear form of orchid foliage. At the base, a small portion of the root system is visible, showing the fibrous roots typical of terrestrial orchids. A Chinese inscription at the lower left corner reads “qing lanhua 青蘭花”, green orchid. 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: 314 mm
Width: 390 mm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1973) by Fairhaven, Henry Rogers Broughton
Chinese
Chinese export art
Chinese export watercolour
Support composed of paper
Watercolour : Watercolour and some white on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.6
Primary reference Number: 32415
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) "Green Orchid (Abelmoschus manihot)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/32415 Accessed: 2025-12-24 11:24:00
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/32415
|title=Green Orchid (Abelmoschus manihot)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-24 11:24:00|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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-32415
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