Ernest Archibald Taylor
Display cabinet, ca. 1901
White painted sycomore, mother-of-pearl inlay, stained glass
Made by Wylie and Lochhead, Glasgow
h. 65 1/3 in. (166 cm) - w. 39 1/3 in. (100 cm) - d. 11 7/8 in. (30 cm)
PROVENANCE : Scottish private collection since the 1960’s - By descent to the previous owner - McTears Auctioneers, Glasgow, 7th April 2021, lot 1663 - Paul Reeves London, acquired at the above sale.
SIMILAR PIECES : This cabinet is the only example of this design known to date. It is also one of very few white painted pieces by E. A. Taylor. Other variants are in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (98.276.82), the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, Denver (2012.0759) and of Glasgow Museums (E.1981-126). The latter, designed for the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1901, is intriguingly close to ours in every detail (identical handles, leaded glass pattern and stained glass butterflies).
NOTE : A period photograph of what we believe to be the cabinet offered here prior to being painted is in the collection of the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow, UK (GLAHA:44715).