Live Auction 2435500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, including Oriental Carpets
A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY, SATINE AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY GRAND PIANO
Lot 100 PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION (LOT 100)

A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY, SATINE AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY GRAND PIANO

THE MOVEMENT BY STEINWAY & SONS, HAMBURG, SERIAL NUMBER 103005, CIRCA 1902

Closed15 April 2011

Price Realised

USD 134,500

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A FRENCH ORMOLU-MOUNTED MAHOGANY, SATINE AND FRUITWOOD MARQUETRY GRAND PIANO
THE MOVEMENT BY STEINWAY & SONS, HAMBURG, SERIAL NUMBER 103005, CIRCA 1902
The serpentine hinged top with foliate-cast edge and inlaid with marquetry à la reine and lush floral sprays, the sides similarly inlaid with musical trophies and mounted with raised floral garlands, on three foliate-headed square tapering legs terminating in paw-cast sabots, the lyre-shaped pedal support mounted with garlands, the movement and top of the lyre numbered B103005
Open: 70½ in. (179.1 cm.) high, 57 3/8 in. (145.5 cm.) wide, 84 5/8 in. (215 cm.) long
Closed: 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.) high

Specialist note

Described in the Steinway archive as a 'model B in Marquetry Mahogany finish', this piano was manufactured in Hamburg and transported to London on 18 June 1902. As with a number of piano manufacturers post-1830, such as the Parisian firm of Erard, little detail was paid to the record-keeping of the ébénistes who would eventually finish the piano carcass. Such is the case with the present piano. However, the design of this example is in keeping with the a number of art-case pianos of similar date and manufacture. The Louis XVI style case, paired with weighty and profusely-mounted legs, may be compared to a 'Piano Empire' by François Linke (illustrated C. Payne., François Linke: The Belle Epoque of French Furniture, Woodbridge, 2003, p. 450).