Chinese Watercolours Spice up British Library
Eight watercolours by an anonymous Chinese artist, created in the late 19th century, are now available to view on the Online Gallery. These historic paintings are botanical illustrations of spices (such as the Clove shown above), the most coveted commodity Asia had to offer the West in the 1800's, aside from opium.
Curator of South East Asia Collections, Annabel Gallop, commented,
"They are part of the Raffles Family Collection, which we were able to acquire as a result of a successful fundraising campaign. The Collection contains over 150 natural history and topographical drawings from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as family correspondence and papers, and an important collection of diplomatic letters."
Maps provide a fascinating insight into our history, and I marvel at the skill of the early mapmakers. My own collection is constantly on view at home, and they always provide a focus for discussions. I am very grateful to the British Library for looking after our heritage, in the form of old maps.
Philip Hennessy
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Geoff