(BOTANICAL WATERCOLOR.) King, William. Helicteres or Screw Tree. Finely exectued ink and watercolor on vellum, signed lower left: "Wm. King Pinx". 377x245 mm. Remnants of paper mounts on verso, probably easily removed by a professional. Provenance: with Lucien Goldschmidt. [England], 1763
Inscribed on verso: "Helicteres or Screw Tree / This plant grows naturally on the Hills about Malabar. This painting was / taken from the plant when it in Flower & Fruit in my Hot House in the year 1763. / F.W.S."
King was an accomplished botanical illustrator of the mid-18th century. His chief commissions included rendering flowers from Peter Collinson's garden and contributing to Bute's Botanical Tables. (See Blunt) In addition to the present painting see the Natural History Museum, Kensington for further examples of King's exceptional compositional skill; their holdings include a watercolor on vellum of Rosa centifolia that prefigures Redouté by several decades.
