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Flame-of-the-forest or dhak tree (Butea monosperma).

Company School1770/1810

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery
Exeter, United Kingdom

True cochineal is a very valuable product. Cochineal is a red dye formed by crushing
insects that feed on the Mexican prickly pear cactus. In a similar way, the
eggs of the lac insects (Laccifer lacca or Kerria lacca) that feed on the ruby-coloured gum of the dhak tree can be crushed to make a dye. In the 1790s the East India Company hoped that
this might be used as a substitute for cochineal but it was not a profitable
venture.                                                                                                                                               Drawings of Indian plants and trees later named at the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew

Details

  • Title: Flame-of-the-forest or dhak tree (Butea monosperma).
  • Creator Nationality: Indian
  • Date: 1770/1810
  • Physical Dimensions: w380 x h543 mm
  • Provenance: Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter City Council.
  • Type: Drawing
  • Medium: Watercolour
  • Artist: Company School

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