Lyraflügel

A mahogany pianoforte whose upright back is shaped as a gilded lyre, its strings rising in a fan from a carved gilt base. The keyboard sits on a veneered case with slender legs ending in gilded paw feet, and a small lyre-shaped stretcher links the legs. The silk-covered panel behind the strings sets off the gilt against the dark wood.

Look closer: A small gilt ornament crowns the top of the lyre frame, above the central emblem.

Artist

Johann Christian Schleip

Date

ca. 1820–44

Medium

Wood, silk, gilt, ivory

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2882 × 3842 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Sayers, 1968