Flora Indica

For the first time, Kew’s recovered collections of Indian botanical art are brought together with the remarkable stories that they tell – of the artists who painted them, the colonial context in which they were made, and their essential role in the development of botanical knowledge. This beautifully illustrated book foregrounds the vital role of Indian artists in helping to advance both scientific knowledge and the aesthetics of botanical art, featuring more than 100 artworks. Flora Indica presents a representative selection from the previously fractured, uncatalogued, and largely inaccessible collection of over 7,000 Indian illustrations in Kew’s archives, through which readers are invited to discover the important lost histories of Indian botanical art from the age of empire. With a foreword by art historian William Dalrymple.

For the first time, Kew’s recovered collections of Indian botanical art are brought together with the remarkable stories that they tell – of the artists who painted them, the colonial context in which they were made, and their essential role in the development of botanical knowledge. This beautifully illustrated book foregrounds the vital role of Indian artists in helping to advance both scientific knowledge and the aesthetics of botanical art, featuring more than 100 artworks. Flora Indica presents a representative selection from the previously fractured, uncatalogued, and largely inaccessible collection of over 7,000 Indian illustrations in Kew’s archives, through which readers are invited to discover the important lost histories of Indian botanical art from the age of empire. With a foreword by art historian William Dalrymple.