You know I'm a sucker for a naive floral watercolor, and this I believe is quite an early one, 1st half 19th c.(and I think closer to 1800 than 1850), with a wonderful looseness and sense of whimsy to it--indeed, it looks almost as if the basket is about to tip over with the weight of all those flowers! Fabulous woven basket, fabulous flurry of green, with roses and bluebells and pansies and strawberries and who knows what all spilling out. I especially love the tiny ink drawn dots giving seeds to the berries and animating some of the flower petals too, including the wispy yellows ones near the top. It seems as though the red of the berries may have faded, although the color on the basket is so strong I'm not sure, and/or perhaps a few flowers were never given color. Whatever the case, very full of life and hard to find early ones like this.
In a perfectly suited, simple period frame, as found: 11" x 9 1/16". Sight: 8 5/8" x 6 1/2". Some tears to the paper (wove I believe) visible upon close inspection as documented through details--stable and flat in its frame and I don't think detracting.
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