Square piano
Maker
Joseph Anton Boos
Date1776
Place MadeMainz, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedIn marquetry on the nameboard: J.A. Boos Mayence A - 1776MarkingsSeveral not entirely legible inscriptions in ink on the bottom edge of the nameboard, including the dates 1807, 1811, and 1817.
Two not entirely legible inscriptions in ink on rectangles of wood inlaid into the bottom under the keyboard:
In the treble: [two words] - 1807 – Castel Fr[illegible letters] / Ferdinand [G?]randes[s?]i[n?]i
In the bass: organaro [several illegible letters]assano Restaurato / Rimeso o[?, followed by about 7 illegible letters]o 1817: Gio:[?] / [3 or 4 illegible letters]aryd
In ink on the front rail of the key frame: Cinq.: maggio 1827 • Citadela Ferdinando G[r]and[essini?] di anni 84 -
In pencil on the bottom under the soundboard, a not entirely legible inscription including the date 1900.
DescriptionCompass: FF-f3
Prellmechanik without escapement.
Case: Exterior veneered in mahogany. Interior around the soundboard, hitchpin rail, etc. with geometrical marquetry. Keywell with more elaborate marquetry, with garlands on the key cheeks and the inscription on the nameboard. The underside of the instrument is reinforced by a heavy oak frame, a mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth-century addition.
DimensionsLength: 1570 mm
Width: 560 mm
3-octave measure: 476 mm
String lengths (approximate):
f3: 104 mm
c2: 292 mm
FF: 1318 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2007 from Lehmann Strings, Rochester, New York.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine K. “Square Pianos in German-Speaking Areas at the Time of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Their Possible Uses in His Works,” in Thomas Donahue, ed., Essays in Honor of Christopher Hogwood: The Maestro’s Direction (Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2011), pp. 157–179, specifically 167-168.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 2007
Object number13263
On View
Not on view
1530 ca.