White Butterfly Cabinet

Ernest Archibald Taylor, ca. 1901
H. 166 cm – H.100 cm -D.30 cm

Display cabinet

ca. 1901

White painted sycomore, mother-of-pearl inlay, stained glass

Made by Wylie and Lochhead, Glasgow

h. 651/3 in. (166 cm) – w. 391/3 in. (100 cm) – d. 117/8 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.

Note A period photograph of what we believe to be the cabinet o ered here prior

to being painted is in the collection of the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow (GLAHA:44715).

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).