Upright (Giraffe) Piano
Medium
Wood, various materials
Dimensions
Case L. (perpendicular to keyboard): 55.3 cm (21-7/8 in.; W. parallel to keyboard): 115.8 cm (45-5/8 in.);H.: 199.5 cm (78-5/8 in.)
Classification
Chordophone-Zither-struck-piano
Culture
Austrian
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Murtogh Guinness, 1979
Accession Number
1980.218
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of early 19th-century music with Johann Jacob Könnicke's *Upright (Giraffe Piano* from 1810, a striking Austrian instrument now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Musical Instruments. Thisophone, classified as a zither-str piano, stands an impressive 199.5 cm tall, with a slender case measuring 55.3 cm deep and 115.8 cm wide—its dramatically slanted, elongated form earning it the whimsical "giraffe" nickname. Crafted from wood and various materials, it exemplifies the exquisite cabinetry of Viennese instrument makers, blending functionality wit...