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MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717)
Papapya plant with Nymphidium butterfly
1702-03RCIN 921197
Merian noted that papaya could be eaten cooked or raw and that the hollow plant stalks were used as rain gutters in Surinamese buildings. This is one of the few Metamorphosis illustrations in the Royal Collection without printed lines, suggesting that Merian had not started work on this plate by the time she made the set.