The botanical world of Mary Delany

This exhibition package presents 50 images of English artist Mary Delany's pioneering and inspirational 'paper mosaiks' of plants and flowers, displayed side by side in a way not possible in real life, due to their fragility and existence in bound volumes.

The display encompasses high-resolution photography of some of Delany's most spectacular works and details the inspiration and drive behind her output, including her original technical process and the legacy she has left. The visually stunning images reveal Delany's incredible precision in creating scientifically accurate representations of botanical specimens. Visitors are able to explore and appreciate the delicacy and skill that Delany employed, throughout her impressive oeuvre of work, which she only began at the age of 72.

The botanical world of Mary Delany forms part of a touring exhibition series called the British Museum Unseen. These displays explore a variety of themes across the British Museum's collection, comprised primarily of digital photography and focusing on the lesser known, and at times invisible, stories from within the Museum.