Common red poppy, Jacob's ladder and Corn cockle, Alexander Marshal, circa 1680

A watercolour of the common red poppy (papaver rhoeas), jacob's ladder (polemonium caeruleum) and corn cockle (agrostemma githago). The page is inscribed in pen and ink at the upper right corner of the sheet: 131. Folio 131 of alexander marshal's florilegium, begun in about 1650 and added to until his death. The 159 sheets show plants and flowers of english gardens over the course of a year. Manuscript florilegia were common in continental europe in the seventeenth century, but this flower book is apparently unique in english art of the period. Provenance: presented to george iv by john mangles of hurley, berkshire. Date: circa 1680. Medium: watercolour. Common red poppy, Jacob's ladder and Corn cockle (RCIN 924398-2)