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Cornet à Pistons in B-flat

1833
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 680
The cornet was invented in France in the 1820s as a valved version of the post horn. The instrument met immediate success and soon replaced keyed bugles as a favorite among audiences. This instrument has two valves of the type invented by the German Heinrich David Stölzel (1777 - 1844) in 1814 and which bear his name. Brass instruments with valves dating before 1840 are extremely rare, and this instrument, dated 1833, is one of the earliest surviving examples. Its two valves change the pitch of the instrument by lowering the pitch by a whole step and a half step respectively.

The instrument comes in its original mahogany box with the complete set of accessories: shank for Bb and A, crooks for Ab, G, and F, and two small couplers. Also included are two mouthpieces and a lyre which attaches to the rim (to hold a piece of music).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cornet à Pistons in B-flat
  • Maker: Courtois frères
  • Date: 1833
  • Geography: Paris, France
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Brass, touch pieces of ivory
  • Dimensions: 7 1/2 × 4 5/8 × 15 1/2 in. (19.1 × 11.7 × 39.4 cm)
  • Classification: Aerophone-Lip Vibrated-horn
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Amati Gifts, 2002
  • Object Number: 2002.190a–n
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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