‘Thoroughly Chinese’ Revealing the plants of the Hong merchants’ gardens through John Bradby Blake’s paintings

Josepha Richard, Jan Woudstra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

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Abstract

The paintings in the John Bradby Blake collection should be admired for their sophisticated artistry and accurate depiction of botanical features, but they are also significant because they reveal the diversity of plants grown in the gardens of Chinese in Guangzhou (Canton). They therefore provide a precious insight into a relatively neglected topic in Chinese garden history, namely the cultivation of plants in gardens. This paper identifies one of the gardens from which the plants depicted by John Bradby Blake might have come, and looks at how those plants were used and appreciated in their Chinese context.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)475-497
Number of pages14
JournalCurtis's Botanical Magazine
Volume34
Issue number4
Early online date2 Mar 2018
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2 Mar 2018

Keywords

  • China
  • Chinese history
  • Garden History
  • History of science
  • East India Company
  • botany

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