Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica)
This is a Chinese export watercolour depicting a Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica). The illustration features a branch with three fully opened blooms in varying shades of coral-red to deep crimson, each displaying the characteristic cup-shaped form of camellia flowers with prominent golden-yellow stamens at their centers. The leaves are arranged alternately along the green stems and vary in size and orientation. Several unopened buds are visible among the branches. A Chinese inscription at the lower left corner reads “dan chahua丹茶花”, camellia. 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
Support
composed of
paper
Paper
Height 310 mm
Width 398 mm
Watercolour : Watercolour and some bodycolour on thin paper, backed with second sheet, and both tipped in on the album sheet
Accession number: PD.133-1973.7
Primary reference Number: 32416
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) "Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica)" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/32416 Accessed: 2025-12-06 21:09:55
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/32416
|title=Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica)
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-06 21:09:55|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-32416
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