Three botanical watercolours by Richard Bradley (c.1688–1732) including of coffee and cinnamon

Abstract

Three watercolour paintings by Richard Bradley, depicting plants from the East Indies and southern Africa, are described. The images of Coffea arabica (coffee) (Rubiaceae), Cinnamomum verum (cinnamon) (Lauraceae) and a southern African succulent, Cylindrophyllum calamiforme (Aizoaceae), are bound into contemporary volumes now held at the British Library, London. Also included in the cinnamon watercolour are two images of Sri Lankan butterflies. This paper sets these watercolours in the context of Bradley’s other paintings and colour illustrations. These three images, hitherto unpublished, were probably painted during Bradley’s visit to Holland in 1714.