Sunday, June 06, 2010

The Butterfly Album

hand-painted butterflies



exquisite butterfly painting 1800s



gorgeous 19th c. Chinese hand-painted butterfly album



flying beetle hand-painted in butterfly album



watercolour sketch of insects in butterfly album  1800s



cricket and butterfly sketch - China 19th c.)



hand-painted butterflies & insects from Chinese watercolour album 1800s



exquisite hand-painted butterfly from 19th c. Chinese watercolour album



watercolour sketch of insects (China)



close-up hand-coloured sketch of butterfly



painted insect sketch



Butterfly Album sketch 1800s - China



gorgeous watercolour drawing of insects



Butterfly Album i



19th century watercolour insect sketch



insect sketches in chinese album 1900s




Butterfly Album j

[click through for larger versions; all images are screencaps taken from the flash zoom display; detail images are slightly doctored]

The Royal Digital Library of Belgium has a small album of delicate and charming gouache insect sketches produced in China in the 19th century.

The only other information known is that the butterflies and insects were collected from the Aralia (spikenard) and related Tetrapanax papyrifera (pith paper tree) plant species.

The Harvard University Herbaria has a sub-site devoted to the versatile pith paper tree, including a selection of beautiful watercolour sketches from a 2-volume series on the plant, also from the 19th century.

Previously: fauna | flora.

3 comments :

Karla said...

Very nice. It seems to be butterfly season here, I might add. (When not imitating a monsoon.)

Simona Ardelean said...

simply beautiful.

Lango Aurelian said...

These are gorgeous. Even ( especially ?) the moths..........

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