Citation
"Plant and Insect Study: Laurel; Machanoides butterfly (Unidentified Artist)(Previously attributed to Josef Abel) , 4.1965.2,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Oct 09, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/311949.
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A laurel stem shows eight elliptical leaves fanned out around the stem, dark green color, one is overturned revealing its medium green underside. Five brown pods grow along the stem, five smaller green buds at the top. The plant’s delicate blossom in the upper right features five small white petals surrounding a yellow center, with front, profile, and closed bud views. A brown and yellow spotted butterfly, with dots of blue and red, faces away, open-winged in lower left. A shadow underneath all gives dimensionality, the background is antique white. Manuscript of the Latin names in the lower right.