Botanical Painting: Composite Flower
This painting of a fantastical, composite plant is one of three in a series, the others of which include Geranium and Dianthus. These works, with their matching blue and gold border, were mounted together in a now-dispersed royal album. The paintings themselves are typical of the botanical style that were created in the Mughal court, and yet this work is distinct in that it does not illustrate a real plant, but rather the artist has creatively combined the leaves, stem, and flowers of various plants to create an invented, hybrid form.