Pink composite flower with leaves

By the time of Shah Jahan flowers had become an important painting genre as well as providing the primary motifs in Mughal decorative art. These album studies [LI118.70, LI118.71, LI118.72] show the sensitivity of Mughal botanical painters in interpreting their subjects. The geranium [LI118.70] and dianthus (carnation) [LI118.71] are well observed, with near-symmetrical arrangements of flower-heads or buds. The third study [LI118.72] is an elegant composite plant, with flowers and leaves that do not match. Its flowers are shown opening in stages, from bud to full-blown.

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