Description
Rococo Style
Rococo Style, 1904, Steinway Model B grand piano for sale with an ornately carved, case with gilt accents and scroll foot cabriole legs. Music desk is in a cut-out latticework design with a central lyre motif decorated with draping swags. The three-pedal piano lyre with brass footplate is in a scrolling S-curve acanthus design with a central shell decorated with gilt detail. The scroll foot, cabriole legs feature carvings of shells and acanthus in high relief also with gilt accents. Entire cabinet features exquisite hand-painted scenes in fete galante style. Figures spend time in leisure in an outdoor setting. Some ladies sit discussing the contents of a book and gathering flowers in a basket, a child plays with a small dog, elsewhere a couple recline in an amorous embrace. The piano lid depicts a crowd in fine attire out to see and be seen, enjoying music whilst drinking and talking. The underside of the piano lid depicts a still life of flowers, draped fabric and musical instruments. Piano has an eighty-eight note keyboard and a three-pedal lyre.
Fete galante
Fete galante is a category of painting specially created by the French Academy in 1717 to describe Antoine Watteau's variations on the theme of the fete champetre, which featured figures in ball dress or masquerade costumes diverting themselves amorously in a parkland setting. Watteau created the fete galante painting style as a compromise between two motivations. He wished to please the private individuals who funded his artwork whilst seeking recognition from the Academy. The Academy ranked scenes of everyday life and portraits lower than morally educational paintings depicting history and mythology. By portraying his patrons in scenes reminiscent of the mythologized land of Arcadia Watteau was able to procure the highest ranking at the Academy whilst still flattering his buyers.
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company has a factory in factory in New York City, United States and in Hamburg, Germany. Steinway is an eminent piano company, known for its supreme quality and for many inventions and patents within the area of piano development. The company's share of the high-end grand piano market consistently exceeds 80 percent. The European part of the company holds a royal warrant of appointment to Queen Elizabeth II As of May 2017, around 1,800 pianists worldwide are official Steinway Artists which means that they have independently chosen to perform on Steinway pianos exclusively, and each owns a Steinway. Artists include Sergei Rachmaninoff, Irving Berlin, Benjamin Britten, George Gershwin, Vladimir Horowitz Daniel Barenboim, Harry Connick Jr., Billy Joel, Evgeny Kissin, Diana Krall, and Lang Lang.
