<p>An exhibition, opening on March 7 at the Museum of Art and Photography, will offer insight into the botanical surveys conducted in the Indian subcontinent during the colonial rule. Titled ‘Paper gardens: Art, botany, and empire’, it will feature over 120 works, spanning paintings, textiles, prints and illustrated volumes featuring different plant species of India. </p>.<p>“India was a hotbed of botanical activity during the 17th to 20th centuries, yet these histories are not at the forefront of public memory,” begins Shrey Maurya, curator of the exhibition. The pieces in the exhibition have been carefully picked from the MAP archives acquired over the past two years. </p>.<p class="bodytext">“About 90% of the works are purely scientific records and tell us how plants were studied and how the information was circulated,” she explains, adding that the British expeditions collected and classified this information with the intent of propagation for economic, medical and political needs. Among the pieces on display are hand-coloured lithographs, copperplate engravings and rare photographs. A first edition print of ‘Thesaurus Zeylanicus’, which was published in the early 18th century, is part of the showcase. It is written by Johannes Burman and features copperplate engravings of plants, with details of their medicinal and economical importance. </p>.<p class="bodytext">‘Hortus Malabaricus’, a treatise by Hendrik van Rheede and Itty Achudan, documents 700 plant species from the Malabar coast and details their medicinal value. Achudan was a physician from the traditional Ezhava physicians of Kerala, while Rheede was the governor of Dutch Malabar. “Some of the works had to go through a bit of restoration. And we have been very careful about how they are displayed,” says Shrey. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The exhibition is on until July 5 at Museum of Art and Photography, Kasturba Road. For details, call 6933 4100.</p>
<p>An exhibition, opening on March 7 at the Museum of Art and Photography, will offer insight into the botanical surveys conducted in the Indian subcontinent during the colonial rule. Titled ‘Paper gardens: Art, botany, and empire’, it will feature over 120 works, spanning paintings, textiles, prints and illustrated volumes featuring different plant species of India. </p>.<p>“India was a hotbed of botanical activity during the 17th to 20th centuries, yet these histories are not at the forefront of public memory,” begins Shrey Maurya, curator of the exhibition. The pieces in the exhibition have been carefully picked from the MAP archives acquired over the past two years. </p>.<p class="bodytext">“About 90% of the works are purely scientific records and tell us how plants were studied and how the information was circulated,” she explains, adding that the British expeditions collected and classified this information with the intent of propagation for economic, medical and political needs. Among the pieces on display are hand-coloured lithographs, copperplate engravings and rare photographs. A first edition print of ‘Thesaurus Zeylanicus’, which was published in the early 18th century, is part of the showcase. It is written by Johannes Burman and features copperplate engravings of plants, with details of their medicinal and economical importance. </p>.<p class="bodytext">‘Hortus Malabaricus’, a treatise by Hendrik van Rheede and Itty Achudan, documents 700 plant species from the Malabar coast and details their medicinal value. Achudan was a physician from the traditional Ezhava physicians of Kerala, while Rheede was the governor of Dutch Malabar. “Some of the works had to go through a bit of restoration. And we have been very careful about how they are displayed,” says Shrey. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The exhibition is on until July 5 at Museum of Art and Photography, Kasturba Road. For details, call 6933 4100.</p>