Study of an ear of plant seeds in red chalk
A drooping seed head with radiating awns and faint subsidiary sketches
Rendered in red chalk (sanguigna), this study depicts a drooping ear or cluster of oval seeds from which fine awns spread outward to both sides. Below it are fainter, more tentative sketches, including a small spiral and rounded forms. The V&A caption identifies the subject as plant seeds (semi vegetali).
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Drooping seed head with radiating awns
An arc of oval seeds hangs from a curving stalk, with long thin lines fanning outward on either side like the bristles of a ripe ear. The seeds are lightly modelled in red chalk, and additional faint, tentative sketches sit lower on the leaf.