ANTIQUE JAPANESE WATERCOLOR OF IRIS FLOWER: NO. 5

This lovely antique Japanese watercolor of an iris, painted on rice paper, is one in a series of nine such watercolors.  Each watercolor depicts an iris, but each illustration in this series of nine shows an iris that is unique and slightly different in color and shape from the others.

These exquisite watercolors were displayed in garden stores in Japan where iris bulbs were sold to illustrate what the flower from each bulb would look like when it bloomed. In modern times, we just look at a photo of the flower next to the bulbs to know what color and type of flower the bulb will produce.  Before the age of photography, however, these lovely watercolors were used to illustrate the colors and shapes of these delicate flowers.