Butterfly on Flowering Branch with Shadows , Fine 19th Century Watercolor cribbage board which slides out to reveal

which slides out to reveal a pretty blue belle

Such a gorgeous thing

which seems just as it should be

For the purposes of display

I like to think she was a woman of mystery and complexity--forever elusive and endlessly compelling

Butterfly on Flowering Branch with Shadows , Fine 19th Century Watercolor cribbage board which slides out to revealA couple more today from a group of beautifully executed 19th c. ink and watercolor butterflies, likely done by a young woman, 1870s or so I would guess and this one as much a botanical study as a butterfly portrait. Feels to me almost akin to a Mapplethorpe photograph of a flower quite a suggestive, velvety red orchid like bloom looking poised to swallow that butterfly! Quite finely done, with pale ink wash shadows enhancing its sense of realism and