A FRENCH PARCEL-GILT MAHOGANY AND OIL-ON-CANVAS BABY-GRAND PIANO

This piano was made towards the end of the 'Golden Age' of piano making and belongs to a type, the art-case piano, which was usually designed for and commissioned by a specific client. As such, an art-case piano was considered an individual expression of culture and sophistication. Because of the highly specialized skills involved in their production, most of these pianos left the factory in a 'blank' state, to be ornamented by another workshop to a client's precise requirement. However, Pleyel, a prominent piano-making firm who had been awarded the Grand Prix at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle for their art-case pianos, were an exception to this practice, for often the painting, ormolu mounts and carving were completed in-house by employing 'the best' artists of the day. Although it has not been possible to find any information on 'H. Bodis', the signature on the painted panels of the present example, he or she was almost certainly the artist responsible for the decoration.