Iris Fine Bone China Mug in 'Redoute' design is part of the Kew Gardens collection. The range has been created from the Library at The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, one of the world's foremost archives of rare and historically significant artwork. Belgian born Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840) achieved success as the official court artist of Queen Marie Antoinette. In 1798 he was appointed to paint the flowers of Malmaison by Josephine Bonaparte. These designs come from his famous 1827 work 'Choix des plus Belles Fleaurs', where Redoute mastered the unusual technique of stipple engraving. This made possible the subtle variations in colour for which his work is renowned. Redoute contributed over 2100 published coloured plates during his life, depicting over 1800 species, many never illustrated before.