Description
Manxman
Arts and Crafts, 1904, Broadwood 'Manxman' piano with an oak case. Cabinet resembles a chest on a stand and is reminiscent of an old strong box from the Elizabethan period. Cabinet entirely encloses the instrument. Cabinet has studded brass strap hinges with Fleur-de-lis embellishment, two circular brass handles and brass and a Fleur-de-lis key escutcheon. Piano has two wrought steel sconces in a stylised flower stem design. Music desk is incorporated into the piano cabinet with a hinged scalloped top. Cabinet features three open panels backed in fabric that acts as a sound box. Piano has two punched brass pedals. Piano has an eighty-five note keyboard. Designed by M. H. Baillie Scott. It is estimated only 40 examples of this piano were ever made. The 'Manxman' piano was a series of pianos that could be customised according to clients' specifications.
M. H. Baillie Scott
M. H. Baillie Scott was an influential architect and designer of the late Arts and Crafts period, admired throughout Europe and America. His style was simple and bold, incorporating contrasting colour and texture, achieved with use of materials, inlays and marquetry. The Manxman name refers to an inhabitant of the Isle of Man.
Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts decorative style was based on the following principles; handmade, simple forms with little ornamentation, beauty of natural materials, copper and pewter, stylised flowers, allegories from the Bible and literature, upside down hearts, Celtic motifs..
John Broadwood & Sons
John Broadwood & Sons is an English piano manufacturer, founded in 1728 by Burkat Shudi and continued after his death in 1773 by John Broadwood. John Broadwood (1732–1812), a Scottish joiner and cabinetmaker, came to London in 1761 and began to work for the Swiss harpsichord manufacturer Burkat Shudi. He married Shudi's daughter eight years later and became a partner in the firm in 1770. As the popularity of the harpsichord declined, the firm concentrated on the manufacture of pianos, abandoning the harpsichord altogether in 1793. The firm's busiest time period was during the 1850s, when approximately 2,500 instruments were produced annually. Frédéric Chopin played Broadwood instruments in Britain, including at the last concert of his life given at Guildhall, London, in 1848.
