Orphica

A black and white photograph of an orphica, a long, slender instrument with a curved, tapering body and a row of keys at the right end. The keyboard of white and dark keys is set into a dark case, and the strings run beneath a pale, glossy top. The photograph is taken from the side against a plain background, showing the full length of the instrument.

Look closer: The keys of the keyboard are visible at the right end, the detail that identifies the instrument as a keyed struck-string type.

Artist

Unknown

Date

early 19th century

Medium

Various materials

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

1410 × 288 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889