The Adam Clothes Cabinet designed by William Burges, and inscribed with the year 1875 in Roman letters above the lowest panel. This whimsical piece of furniture was in the room at the Tower House, Kensington home, designated as a day nursery (Crook 334). Measurements given by the Art Fund: 188 x 120 x 71 cm; the stand was a later addition. From the same source comes the suggestion that the cabinet, showing clothes offered to Adam after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, was painted by Frederick Weekes. Note the archangel at the top, holding the spade for Adam's future life of toil.
The lower two painted panels.
Joseph Mordaunt Crook sees the cabinet, like the chimneypiece in the same room, as "intriguing," describing it as "painted with comic sartorial symbolism: expelled from Paradise, Adam is presented with a shirt, drawers, stockings, boots, vest and cloak; while below runs a comic procession of brushes, razors, combs, etc." (343). Although children would no doubt find the whole piece amusing, the clothing and especially the grooming items pictured are more suited to adults, and indeed the Art Fund commentary states that it was for Burges's own use. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Other Furniture in the Tower House
- The Red Bed, with Henry Holiday's painted headboard
- The Crocker Dressing Table
- The Great Bookcase
- The Narcissus Wash Stand
Images provided by Simon Cooke, and reproduced here by kind permission of the Trustees of the Higgins Art Gallery and Museum, Bedford, which has a fine grouping of work designed by William Burges.
Bibliography
Crook, J. Mordaunt. William Burgess and the High Victorian Dream. Revised ed. London: Francis Lincoln, 2013.
"A Painted Cabinet." The Art Fund. 5 April 2024. https://www.artfund.org/supporting-museums/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/2372/a-painted-cabinet
Created 5 April 2024