Cat's Claw (Mimosa circinalis)

published 1731-1743

Mark Catesby

Associated Names
Mark Catesby

Artist, English, 1679 - 1749

The image displays a small leafy tree or branch with pink fluffy flowers in the upper right. In the lower right, there is a large, intricately patterned butterfly. The color palette includes shades of green, light brown, pink, vibrant yellow, and black. Brown seed pods are observed hanging down in the center left of the image. The tree occupies the top half of the image, with the butterfly in the bottom right showcasing its wings' patterns and colors.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green

  • Dimensions

    plate: 34.9 x 26 cm (13 3/4 x 10 1/4 in.)
    sheet: 50.6 x 34.8 cm (19 15/16 x 13 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.163.43

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Natural History, Vol. vol.2, no. 97

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green, Virginia; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1771

  • Catesby, Mark. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. London: 1771.

Inscriptions

center left in plate (in blank space near pod): MC; upper left in plate: 97.; by later hand, lower left in graphite: VIII/SL; by later hand, lower center in graphite: Catesby 1743

Watermarks

IV

Wikidata ID

Q74894839

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