The Batley Cabinet
Henry William Batley (1846 - 1932)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1878
Materials
Satin birch, maple, satinwood, walnut, velvet, glass
Measurements
315 x 250 x 63.5 cm
Order this imageCollection
Knightshayes Court, Devon
NT 540726
Summary
A large breakfront display cabinet, English, circa 1878, designed by H. W. Batley and probably made by Henry Ogden & Son. In satin birch, satinwood, walnut and with striking maple veneers to the interior of the cupboards, the columns and panels superbly carved with flowers, other panels set-back in the niches carved more geometrically, enclosed by multiple cupboards flanked by open galleried shelves and corner columns, the top section with open galleries and a central projecting glazed cupboard above an open niche with buttoned-velvet background, the lower section with four drawers over an open compartment and hinged flap, further cupboards and side doors giving access to glazed display niches, standing on a plinth, the drawers lined with mahogany, the handles shaped as rosettes.
Full description
Henry William Batley (1846-1932) was a furniture, wall-paper and textile designer associated with the Aesthetic movement and the Egyptian Revival style. He designed furniture for Collinson & Lock, Shoolbred & Co. and Henry Ogden & Son of Manchester. In 1883 he published his 'Series of Studies for Furniture, Decoration, etc.' A cabinet illustrated as plate 9 bears similarities to the cabinet at Knightshayes. For the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878 Batley designed the exhibition show rooms for the stand of Shoolbred & Co. and also a cabinet, very similar to the Knightshayes cabinet, for the stand of Henry Ogden & Son (see The Art Journal 1878, p.121. and 'Batley- Artist and Designer', Studies in the Decorative Arts, Spring/Summer 1999, figure 18). A quick comparison with the Knightshayes example (appearing as figure 19 in the same article) suggests a less expensive version as it sits up on a plinth (rather than legs) and does not have the painted panels and silver mounts which the Exposition example has. The form is otherwise identical.
Provenance
By repute, commissioned by Thomas Statter, agent of the Earl of Derby for Stand Hall, Whitefield, Lancashire. Purchased by the National Trust in 1985 with the help of a V&A Grant.
Makers and roles
Henry William Batley (1846 - 1932), designer