Hanging cabinet from the hall at The Grove, Harborne; English, 1877-1878

Hanging cabinet of wood decorated with carving and spandrels featuring designs from nature including an owl, a bat, thistles, and other foliage

Given by the Kenrick family and Birmingham City Council

This hanging cabinet was designed by the architect, J.H. Chamberlain, for the hall of The Grove, Harborne, the house he rebuilt for William Kenrick, a local industrialist and M.P. The cabinet was probably made in the workshop of Samuel Barfield, a skilled woodcarver who frequently worked for Chamberlain. Kenrick, a keen collector of art pottery and Chinese blue and white porcelain, filled the shelves of the cabinet with pieces from his collection. He recorded this arrangement in a watercolour of the hall which shows the hanging cabinet on the right hand wall (V&A Museum, E. 217-1968).

In 1911, an Inventory of the contents of the Grove was drawn up for William Kenrick by Waring & Gillow Ltd (Birmingham City Archives MS 400/93). The hanging cabinet, and a smaller china cabinet, are both listed on page 24, with a list of blue and white Chinese porcelain in the Main Hall on page 46 and photographs of both cabinets on pages 48 and 51. Two copies of the Inventory are in the relevant Buildings file, Information Section, Department of Furniture, Textiles and Fashion.

In 1962 John Hayward of the Department of Woodwork and Barbara Morris of the Department of Circulation were invited to inspect The Grove by Birmingham Museum as the house and grounds had been bequeathed to the City Council. They recommended that the hanging cabinet be acquired for the Museum with two other pieces of furniture and the watercolours of the interiors.

W.4A/1-1964