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Square Piano

Anton Vatter Austrian
ca. 1800
Not on view
This square piano may have come from the workshop of Anton Walter. One of the most important piano makers in the Viennese tradition, Walter improved upon the German piano action of Johann Andreas Stein. Around 1782, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart purchased a grand piano from Walter, which he used to write most of his later piano works. There are no other known square pianos from the Walter workshop, and the unusual spelling of the maker's last name may indicate that this instrument was built by another maker.

This square piano has a simple case without decoration, probably of cherry wood and sits on top of four square, tapered legs. The keyboard has sixty-one keys (FF-f3) with ebony naturals and bone slips over dark stained accidental blocks. There are two knee levers, the left operates a felt piano stop and the right lifts the dampers. German action with escapement, brass kapsels, and overhead dampers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Square Piano
  • Maker: Anton Vatter (possibly Anton Walter)
  • Date: ca. 1800
  • Geography: Vienna, Austria
  • Culture: Austrian
  • Medium: Cherry (?), iron, ebony, bone
  • Dimensions: Case length (perpendicular to keyboard) 59 cm, Width (parallel to keyboard) 161 cm, Case depth (without lid) 20.7 cm, Total height 79 cm
  • Classification: Chordophone-Zither-struck-piano
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.1214
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

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