Egyptian Lotus (Nymphaea lotus) – 18th-Century Indian Botanical Print

A white water lily, from bud to root. On a cream page, a white Egyptian lotus rises from its tangle of fine roots: large round leaves with toothed edges, slender stems, closed buds and a wide-open flower with a golden heart. In the corners, the artist adds a seed head and a cut flower, as botanical plates do, along with a handwritten inscription.

Nymphaea lotus, the white Egyptian lotus, is a night-flowering water lily of tropical Africa and Asia. Sacred in ancient Egypt, where it appears on temple walls and tomb paintings, it also grows in the ponds and temple tanks of India, where this sheet was painted.

Why it works on your wall

• Calm and elegant: white and deep green on cream for a bathroom, a bedroom or a living room
• Botanical and timeless: the precision of a natural history plate with the grace of Indian painting
• Framing tip: a light oak or white frame keeps it airy; it works well in a series of botanical prints

The illustration

This watercolour was painted in India in the 18th century, when European naturalists and the East India Company commissioned local artists to record the plants and animals of the subcontinent. These works combine scientific accuracy with the refinement of Indian miniature painting.

• Artist: Indian school
• Date: 18th century
• Technique: watercolour on paper
• Theme: lotus, water lily, botanical

Your print

• Colours restored from a high-definition scan of the original
• Printed in Europe on thick archival matte paper, FSC certified
• From A4 to A0, plus 40×60, 50×70, 60×90 and 70×100 cm and 12×18 to 27×40 inch sizes, all made for standard frames
• Free shipping, no minimum order. Shipped rolled in a sturdy tube

Pair it with Ohara Koson’s Flowering Water Lily, or explore our vintage botanical prints and natural history prints.