Alto Saxhorn in E-flat

ca. 1850–60

Not on view

Alto saxhorn in E-flat with three Berlin valves. Saxhorns are a family of valved brass instruments developed by Adolphe Sax in the mid-nineteenth century. His design was copied by numerous rival makers.Saxhorns were widely used in military and civilian bands and are the forebears of the modern euphonium, tenor horn and baritone. Saxhorns were designed as a uniform family of instruments with members ranging from soprano to contrabass. All shared a simililar tubing layout, bore profile and valve system. As a result, all members of the family produced a similar timbre, or tone color, across their range and because the fingering was the same on each instrument, players could easily switch between various members of the saxhorn family.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Alto Saxhorn in E-flat
Date: ca. 1850–60
Geography: France (?)
Culture: possibly French
Medium: Brass, nickel-silver
Dimensions: L. 64.4 cm (25-3/8 in.); Diam. of bell: 19.1 cm (7-1/2 in.)
Classification: Aerophone-Lip Vibrated
Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Object Number: 89.4.2177
Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

More Artwork

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French — Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century

Alto Saxhorn in E-flat, Brass, nickel-silver, European or American — Alto Saxhorn in E-flat
European or American
mid-19th century

Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat, Edgar Degas French, Graphite and black chalk — Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat
Edgar Degas
Sitter Edouard Manet
ca. 1868

Alto Saxhorn in E-flat, John Howard Foote American, Brass, nickel-silver, American — Alto Saxhorn in E-flat
John Howard Foote
ca. 1865–80

The Connoisseur, Honoré Daumier French, Pen and ink, wash, watercolor, lithographic crayon, and gouache over black chalk on wove paper — The Connoisseur
Honoré Daumier
ca. 1860–65

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