No.1 Route Chart Yunnan-Fu to T’eng-Yueh, 1878
Edward Colborne Baber (1843-1890)
From ‘Report by Mr Baber on the route followed by Mr Grosvenor’s mission between Tali-fu and Momein’

This is one of four maps included within an account of a journey to western China. The Miscellaneous Reports: China contain copies of many similar reports, where writers made extensive notes on local plants and plant products. This map is labelled with areas of interest and short descriptions of places encountered.

An epitome of the reports of the medical officers to the Chinese imperial maritime customs service, from 1871 to 1882: with chapters on the history of medicine in China; materia medica; epidemics; famine; ethnology; and chronology in relation to medicine and public health
Charles Alexander Gordon
London: Baillière, Tindall, and Cox, 1884

My Chinese collectors, all faithful and true. Ichang. Feb 15, 1911
E H Wilson (1876-1930)
From ‘Arnold Arboretum Expedition to China, 1910-1911, volume 3’

Ernest Henry Wilson was a British plant collector who introduced many Chinese plants to Western gardens from the early 20th century. He photographed his expeditions extensively. This group photograph of Wilson’s Chinese team was taken in Yichang at the end of his 1910-1911 expedition. He expresses warmth towards the team in the photograph caption; but unlike the plants in the three volumes of photographs, the men are not named.

11 Volumes of the Miscellaneous Reports: China, 2022
Alice Nelson

This photograph shows the location of these volumes in the Archive Store. It features Anushka Tay’s hands.

Wilson’s China: a century on
Mark Flanagan and Tony Kirkham
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 2009

This book documents a journey in Sichuan, west China, which attempted to retrace E H Wilson’s early 20th century plant collecting routes and re-take his photographs. It was written by botanists Mark Flanagan and Tony Kirkham. Kirkham was the head of the Arboretum at Kew Gardens until 2021.

Ilex cornuta Lind. Shrub 12 feet. Cultivated in grounds of British Consulate, Ichang
E H Wilson (1876-1930)
From ‘Arnold Arboretum Expedition to China, 1907-1908, volume 2’

Many of Wilson’s photographs of Chinese trees feature one of the Chinese team-members from his expedition standing near the trunk. I read these photographs as a double-portrait. They document and express both plant and person.

List of seeds sent Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew by NH Cowdry, Peking Union Medical College, 1st April 1920
N H Cowdry (1849-1925)
Miscellaneous Reports 4/2/1 f55

Pinus Bungeana, 1850s
Artist unknown
Ink and watercolour on paper
From the Robert Fortune Collection Illustrations of Trees

Pinus Bungeana is one of the seeds that N H Cowdry sent to Kew in 1920 (item 7). Its botanical name refers to the Russian botanist Alexander von Bunge (1803-1890). It is native to north and central China. This illustration is from a series of 23 given to Kew by the British plant hunter Robert Fortune (1812-1880). They were drawn by an unnamed Chinese artist, who apparently insisted that the trees were accompanied by sketches of people. This is reminiscent of E H Wilson’s later photographs of Chinese men standing next to trees.

Diospyros kaki
Engraving on paper
From ‘The Gardeners' chronicle: a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects’, July 13th, 1907
With the caption ‘Fruits of Diospyros kaki, var. costata grown in the Isle of Wight’

Kew Inwards Book 1916-1927, ff103-104

N H Cowdry’s parcel of 26 seed packets from Pekin Union Medical College [Beijing] is recorded at the top right-hand side. It was received at Kew on 12 May 1920.

Astringent Persimmon Fruits Preserved in Spirits
Diospyros kaki L.f. var. yokono
Spirits Collection
Donated from the Japan-British Exhibition, 1910

Sweet Persimmon Fruits Preserved in Spirits
Diospyros kaki L.f. var. bon-gafi
Spirits Collection
Donated from the Japan-British Exhibition, 1910

Concertina sketchbook: Juicy, 2022
Anushka Tay
Ink, paper, cardboard

The writers in the Miscellaneous Reports sometimes doodled plants in the margins of their letters. My drawings explore real and imaginary juicy fruits, sketched using a dip pen and different coloured inks to convey texture and sensation. The concertina sketchbook format plays with the expression of time. It is displayed here fully expanded, suggesting a linear timeline where the future can be easily glimpsed.

Nephelium - Litchi variety, early 19th century
Artist unknown
Watercolour on paper

This painting is from the William Kerr Collection of Chinese Plants, a collection in two sets thought to have been commissioned on behalf of Joseph Banks. The first set arrived in London in 1805 and the second in 1807. No information about the artist is currently known, but they were probably painted by a Chinese artist.

Dried Lychee Fruits
Sapindaceae Nephelium euphoria
Economic Botany Collection

Lychee Fruits Preserved in Spirits
Sapindaceae Litchi chinensis
Spirits collection

Dried Lychee Seeds
Sapindaceae Nephelium litchi
Economic Botany Collection

These seeds were collected in Singapore.

Diospyros kaki, early 19th century
Artist unknown
Watercolour on paper
From the William Kerr Collection of Chinese Plants

Life-sized Model of a Persimmon Fruit
Ebenaceae Diospyros kaki
Economic Botany Collection

The Economic Botany Collection was established in 1847 as the Kew Museum. An aim of the collection was to educate people further about the uses of plants and plant products. This life-sized model of a persimmon fruit is shown with a historical display label used in a past exhibition.

Type of Diospyros armata Hemsl., 1889
Hubei, China
Herbarium specimen
Donated by Augustine Henry (1857-1930)

Shì zi [Persimmon]
From ‘Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Hua nan zhi wu yan jiu suo’
[Coloured illustrations of Chinese medicinal herbs in common use. Volume 3]
Kwangtung: Botanical Research Institute, 1970

Notes on Chinese Materia Medica
Daniel Hanbury
Reprinted from ‘The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions’. London: John E Taylor, 1862

Articles Sent, 1893
Foreign Office
Miscellaneous Reports 4/2/3 ff468-469

Kew requested a selection of fruit stone carvings for the Kew Museum (now the Economic Botany Collection). This list shows the items which were sent to Kew, and their price. Three necklaces of carved fruit stones were originally sent, but only one survives today (item 3).

Balsaminaceae Impatiens hosieana Hook., 1904
Herbarium specimen
Donated by Alex Hosie (1853-1925)

Diplomat Alexander Hosie undertook several journeys to research the botany and economics of Chinese communities across western China and Taiwan (then called Formosa), and sent many plant and fibre specimens to Kew. His reports are notable for their length and detail, written in a characterful style which is sometimes humorous, other times infuriating.

Elaborately Carved Fruit Stones, 1893
Burseraceae Canarium pimela
Donated by the British Foreign Office, south China
Economic Botany Collection

This case contains ornamental hand-carved fruit stones, featuring detailed scenes of flowers and people. They were sold as decorative ‘curios’ and were popular with foreigners in China. At the bottom of the case, the fruit stones have been turned into beads and are strung onto a necklace.

Notes on Economic Botany of China
Augustine Henry
Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press, 1893

Augustine Henry (1857-1930) regularly wrote to Kew about economic and medicinal Chinese plants. Several versions of his reports are included in the Miscellaneous Reports. He was a central figure connecting Kew to other Westerners working in China, including E H Wilson and Alex Hosie. Henry sent many specimens to Kew, including dried plants specimens and plant products.

‘Indispensables’. Men laden with sandals made from Bamboo fibre and Bamboo sheaths used in making soles for women’s shoes. Min valley. Alt.5800 ft. North of Mao-chou
E H Wilson (1876-1930)
From ‘Arnold Arboretum Expedition to China 1910-1911, Volume 3’

E H Wilson’s photograph albums include several portraits of local men transporting heavy loads across the mountainous terrain. Here, the labourers are transporting similar sandals to item 6.

Chinese Sandal from Yichang, 1890
Tileaceae Tilia sp.
Economic Botany Collection
Donated by Augustine Henry

The British Treaty Port at Ichang [Yichang], located on the Yangtze river, was an important location for Western scientific and commercial explorers. It provided access to the west of China, and overland routes towards Tibet and India. This handwoven shoe is of the kind typically worn by working-class Chinese men during this period. It is made using fibre from a Chinese species of linden (also called lime) tree. These trees are commonly planted in public spaces in the UK.

China grass or Ramie fibre (Boehemeria nivea). Length of strand 55-60 inches. Ichang. Feb 24, 1911
E H Wilson (1876-1930)
From ‘Arnold Arboretum Expedition to China 1910-1911, Volume 3

This photograph shows bundle of ramie fibre which is ready to be spun and processed into yarn.

Skein of ramie string, 1891
Urticaceae Boehmeria nivea
Economic Botany Collection
Donated by Alex Hosie

Many writers described local Chinese textiles and cloth which they observed on their expeditions. Common textiles used in rural China included cotton, hemp, and ramie. Ramie fibre is derived from the stems of Boehmeria nivea, a plant in the nettle (Urticaceae) family. Ramie is a versatile fibre which is extremely strong and absorbent. When finely woven, its cloth resembles linen, with excellent drape and shine.

Ramie Sock, 1908
Urticaceae Boehmeria nivea
Economic Botany Collection
Donated by W J Freuther

Kew was greatly interested in the industrialisation of ramie fibre processing. Two volumes of the Miscellaneous Reports are dedicated to ramie, also called ‘China grass’. The Economic Botany collection contains specimens of ramie at every stage. Kew also grew ramie plants for experimental processing in England. This sock is a factory sample from France. It demonstrates the fineness and lustre of ramie yarn, and its richness of colour once dyed.

Impressions - Lychee, I - IV 2022
Anushka Tay
Ink on paper

This series of abstract painting elaborates on textures, sensations and bodily responses to the archival materials. It develops the explorations in the Concertina Sketchbook (Window 1).

Map to Accompany Epitome of Medical Reports &c.
from ‘An epitome of the reports of the medical officers to the Chinese imperial maritime customs service, from 1871 to 1882’
London: Baillière, Tindall, and Cox, 1884

This map is marked with the sites of British Treaty Ports. These were established following China’s defeat in the Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860). Treaty Ports operated under foreign laws, the most famous example being the British Colony of Hong Kong. Many figures in the Miscellaneous Reports: China wrote to Kew from British Treaty Ports at Ichang [Yichang] and Canton [Guangdong]. .

I found that somehow, I was all of them, 2022
Anushka Tay

Sitting in the Archive of Kew Gardens and studying the Miscellaneous Reports, I could easily slip between multiple points-of-view. Reading the correspondence, I could be the original recipients in Kew; but also the Europeans in China writing to Kew; and the often-nameless Chinese people who were only occasionally mentioned. Early on in this project, I wrote this poem out by hand in my sketchbook in one take. I edited it very slightly when I typed it up. I recorded a reading of this poem, which you can listen to above.

Handknitted Ramie Socks, 2022
Anushka Tay
Bamboo knitting needles, yarn (70% cotton, 30% ramie)

Today, ramie is still worn by some people in East Asia. But overall, it has been eclipsed by the cotton industry. In the West, ramie is a speciality fibre and not commonly used. Due to this, it can be expensive and hard to find. Ramie blends well with other fibres. I knitted this sock in response to the archival sock (item 10). It is an example of how historical materials hidden in an archive can inspire new discoveries, experiments and processes. Coincidentally, I was able to find yarn in the same shade of coral red.