McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Domestic Fowl [female]
Ayam Cemani Hen
Gallus gallus domesticus
Paillou 1755
Item
1 watercolour painting ; 56 x 39 cm + 1 leaf
Peter Paillou was born in London into a Huguenot family and was recognised in his own time as an eminent ‘bird painter’. In 1744 he began to paint for Taylor White and worked for him for almost thirty years, painting chiefly birds and mammals. He painted as well for Robert More, Joseph Banks, and for the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Many of his paintings of birds were used as the basis for book illustrations, often engraved by his colleague and fellow Huguenot, Peter Mazell. Paillou was elected to the Society of Artists and in 1763 he exhibited ‘A Piece of Birds, in Watercolours; the Hen of the Wood and Cock of the Red Game’. In 1778, to considerable approval, he also showed a picture of ‘A Horned Owl from Peru’, completely made from feathers.
Drawing of an Ayam Cemani Hen from a 18th century specimen.
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Domestic Fowl [female] (Gallus?) Paillou 1755
Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.