Transverse Flute In D or C:
ca. 1800
Medium
wood, ivory, brass
Dimensions
(embouchure length shown in parentheses) L. with D foot: 611 mm (524 mm), 618 mm (532 mm), 625 mm (539 mm); L. with C foot: 670 mm (583 mm), 677 mm (590 mm), 684 mm - 27 in. - (596 mm)
Classification
Aerophone-Blow Hole-side-blown flute (transverse)
Culture
German
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
89.4.923
Art Historical Context
This elegant transverse flute, crafted around 1800 by the German maker C.F. Starck, exemplifies the refined instrument-making traditions of early nineteenth-century Europe. As a side-blown aerophone designed for performance in either D or C, the instrument features interchangeable foot joints that allowed musicians to adapt its pitch and length—ranging from about 611 to 684 millimeters—according to the demands of different musical works. Its presence in the Metropolitan Museum’s Crosby Brown Collection highlights the flute’s role in the evolving classical repertoire of the period, when compose...