Bird Organ thumbnail 1
Bird Organ thumbnail 2
+12
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 1

Bird Organ

about 1770 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Boudin, Leonard (Made)
Place of origin
Paris (Made)

The case of this bird organ was made by Leonard Boudin (1735-1804) of Paris, a specialist in floral marquetry. Bird organs were used to teach caged birds to sing different tunes. The user would wind a handle, which pumped the bellows in a wind-box and simultaneously rotated a cylinder, used to control the air-supply to individual organ-pipes and thus produce different tunes. Different types of bird organ were used in France. This example is a serinette, which copied the sound of finches. Others included a merline, which copied blackbirds and a turlutaine, which copied curlews.


Object details

Category
Musical Instruments
Object type
Bird organ
Materials and techniques
Walnut and possibly poplar, veneered with sycamore inlaid with walnut, sycamore (partly stained with various pigments), partly engraved, the engraving filled with red and black pigments, pearwood, boxwood and purplewood; musical instrument of turned wood (unidentified) painted black, brass and leather, steel springs; gilt brass mounts, steel key.
Poplar
Sycamore
Walnut
Gilt Brass
Leather
Pearwood
Boxwood
Purplewood
Inlay
Gilding
Brief description
Bird organ or serinette, beechwood case with marquetry decoration, Leonard Boudin, Paris, French, about 1770.
Physical description
Case of walnut and possibly poplar, veneered with sycamore inlaid with walnut, sycamore (partly stained with various pigments), partly engraved, the engraving filled with red and black pigments, pearwood, boxwood and purplewood; musical instrument of turned wood (unidentified) painted black, brass and leather, steel springs; gilt brass mounts, steel key. Stamped L*BOUDIN and JME on the front rail of the bottom
Dimensions
  • Height: 204mm
  • Width: 310mm
  • Depth: 270mm
Marks and inscriptions
Boudin (Stamped on the base. Initial uncertain but most likely Leonard Boudin.)
Gallery label
  • Bird organ About 1770 A bird organ was an instrument used to teach caged birds to sing tunes. It first appeared in France around 1730 and became a popular drawing-room toy for fashionable women. Different barrels were inserted to train different birds. This one, with two sets of pipes, probably imitated a blackbird’s song. The case was made by Leonard Boudin, a specialist in marquetry. France (Paris) By Leonard Boudin Walnut and poplar, veneered with sycamore; marquetry in European and tropical woods; gilded copper alloy mounts (09/12/2015)
  • BIRD ORGAN (Serinette) French, about 1765-1775 The piece is stamped L BOUDIN Beechwood case, veneered with satinwood, inlaid with various woods, bronze mounts. The serinette is derived from serine, French for finch. The instrument worked like a small barrel organ with a barbed cylinder, wind box and lead pipes and produced a high, thin sound in imitation of birds. Other versions included a merline, which copied blackbirds and a turlutaine, which copied curlews. Leonard Boudin (1735-1804) specialised in floral marquetry and lacquer furniture and included le Chevalier d'Arc and le Marquis de Castelmore among his patrons. 629-1868(pre September 2000)
Object history
The Museum bought this object from a certain Mr Whitehead in 1868 for £50.
Summary
The case of this bird organ was made by Leonard Boudin (1735-1804) of Paris, a specialist in floral marquetry. Bird organs were used to teach caged birds to sing different tunes. The user would wind a handle, which pumped the bellows in a wind-box and simultaneously rotated a cylinder, used to control the air-supply to individual organ-pipes and thus produce different tunes. Different types of bird organ were used in France. This example is a serinette, which copied the sound of finches. Others included a merline, which copied blackbirds and a turlutaine, which copied curlews.
Bibliographic references
  • Raymond Russell:Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Musical Instruments. Volume I. Keyboard Instruments. (London, 1968), p. 69.
  • Elizabeth Miller and Hilary Young, eds., The Arts of Living. Europe 1600-1815. V&A Publishing, 2015. ISBN: 978 1 85177 807 2, illustrated p. 169.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
629-1868

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Record createdMay 16, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O58971/bird-organ-boudin-leonard/
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