Piano
ca. 1860 (made), ca. 1860 (decorated)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This modest instrument was made by Frederick Priestley, an otherwise unknown piano maker, and given as a wedding present to Edward Burne-Jones in 1860. He subsequently decorated it with a scene from the Medieval Romance, the 'Chant d’Amour' and an allegory of death. In her biography, The Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones, his wife referred to a picture of Death on the panel below the keyboard, 'standing outside the gate of a garden where a number of girls, unconscious of his approach, are resting and listening to music'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 7 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | American oak case, painted with shellac varnish |
| Brief description | English piano, ca. 1860, manufactured by F. Priestley, painted by Edward Burne-Jones |
| Physical description | Piano of American walnut painted by Sir Edward Burne-Jones Bart. Inside the lid is a design for the "Chant D'Amour" and below the keyboard a figure of Death and the maidens playing music. The instrument by Priestly of Berners Street, has copper candle branches attached to the sides. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Girls resting and listening to music |
| Production type | Unique |
| Copy number | 1468 |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Gallery label | UPRIGHT PIANO, English, about 1860. Inscribed on the nameboard, F.Priestly, 15 Berners Street, Oxford Street; painted by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, with scenes from the "Chant d'Amour" inside the keyboard and Death and the Maidens on the lower half of the instrument. The instrument has a compass of eighty-two notes, CC - a4, with keys covered in ivory and the sharps in ebony. The body is of lacquered American walnut.
Museum No.: W.43-1926
Keyboard Catalogue No.: 51
Edward and Georgina Burne-Jones were given the instrument by his aunt in 1860, and its simple design enabled the artist to paint the surface with the themes mentioned above. In her biography The Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones, Lady Burne-Jones wrote "On the panel beneath the keyboard there is a gilded and lacquered picture of Death, veiled and crowned, standing outside the gate of a garden where a number of girls, unconscious of his approach are resting and listening to music".
Presented by Mrs J.W.Mackail.(pre September 2000) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs J. W. Mackail, daughter of the artist |
| Object history | The painted panel below the keyboard (W.43:6-1926) was exhibited: Edward Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite Visionary, Tate Britain, London, 24 October 2018 - 24 February 2019. |
| Production | Attribution note: The piano has a serial number, which implies the case form was made on a large scale. However, the decoration by Burne-Jones makes it unique. Reason For Production: Private |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This modest instrument was made by Frederick Priestley, an otherwise unknown piano maker, and given as a wedding present to Edward Burne-Jones in 1860. He subsequently decorated it with a scene from the Medieval Romance, the 'Chant d’Amour' and an allegory of death. In her biography, The Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones, his wife referred to a picture of Death on the panel below the keyboard, 'standing outside the gate of a garden where a number of girls, unconscious of his approach, are resting and listening to music'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Angela Thirkell, Three Houses. London, Allison & Busby, 2012 (first published 1931). pp. 153-4 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.43-1926 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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