Botanika: A first botanical exhibition in Mauritius

Discover the first botanical exhibition at the Blue Penny Museum, Caudan Waterfront. It is an opportunity for you to take some time off to admire the beautiful aquarelles painted by Malcy de Chazal (1804 – 1880) as well as learn about local medicinal plants.  This week, we take you to a visit at the Blue Penny Museum to discover a unique exhibition. The first botanical exhibition on medicinal plants will not only leave you in awe before Malcy de Chazal’s artistic talents, but will also enrich your knowledge about local medicinal plants. The exhibition aims not only to revive the memory of Malcy de Chazal and exhibit her talents but also to promote Natural Science discipline through medicinal plants. “The Natural Science discipline is often put aside in Mauritius. By exhibiting paintings on medicinal plants, we are promoting Natural Sciences but also adding an anthropological dimension to the event,” explains Emmanuel Richon, Conservator of the Blue Penny Museum. Young and old, you will discover a set of 66 medicinal plants of Mauritius, most of which were present at Mondrain, not far from Henrietta. “To the paintings of Malcy de Chazal, we have added a photo of the plant in its natural environment, as well as the herb harvested and naturalised, displayed in glass cases,” says the conservator. Visit to the exhibition is free and will be open until the 20th August from 10 am to 4.30pm everyday except on Sundays and Public Holidays.

About Malcy de Chazal

Malcy de Chazal was born in 1804 in Plaines Wilhems, Mauritius. She grew up in Mondrain, not far from Henrietta, surrounded by nature on her father’s property. The study of plants played a big role in her personal education. It is probably in Mondrain near Camp Mapou, on her father’s property, that by chance during one of the walks she loved to do, that Malcy discovered the famous Hibiscus genevii. Wishing to capture this unexpected encounter, she drew a pictorial drawing in aquarelle. She was only 17 years old when she developed a passion for this artistic expression related to natural history and botany. Malcy started appreciating the use aquarelle for her paintings which offered her an ease of use. She would carry her box of colors while exploring the countryside in search of plants of interest. Not confining herself to endemic plants only, she deliberately chose to draw nature that surrounds her, giving as much importance to certain weeds considered harmful, rare and endangered plants. In 1869, at age 65, Malcy accompanied J. Caldwell to New Caledonia, via Melbourne. The then Government had charged the latter with a mission to bring sugar cane cuttings to the country. In 1878, he was appointed immigration agent in India. Malcy who was then aged 74, accompanied him to Calcutta where she died two years later in 1880.