Pomegranate Fruit

In the Qur’ān, rummān or pomegranate is seen as a blessing, a symbol of Paradise, and an illustration of the importance of not being excessive or wasteful. The pomegranate has long been a celebrated fruit in many different cultures, a symbol of fertility, prosperity, righteousness and eternal life.

Pomegranate is now cultivated in many parts of the world, but Iran and Central Asia remain as the main producers, where it forms an integral part of their cuisine. Seeing the pomegranate groves in Wadi Beni Habib near Jebel Akhdar in the Hajar mountains of Oman was something never to be forgotten. A remote and dramatic landscape, unchanged for generations with a network of ancient stone Aflaj systems brings water from the mountains to irrigate the groves. In some areas the systems are 5,000 years old.

Grows at Kew in the Duchess Border.

Completed painting size: 72 x 53cm
1.5 x natural size
Watercolour on paper