ticketsMember | Make a donation

Claviorganum

Organ mechanism made by Steffan Cuntz German
1598
Not on view
This tiny instrument incorporates an organ and a virginal built into an ebony tabletop chest of drawers. The lower keyboard manual is for the organ, and levers at the left of the keyboard serve as stops. A pair of bellows is concealed beneath the top of the chest; two ranks of flue pipes and a regal (reed) stop are arranged behind the drawers in the back. The upper keyboard belongs to a removable octave virginal. The instrument is tuned to approximately A=445. Above the keyboards is a small door with a lock and two carved columns flanking a brass relief panel depicting the Deposition from the Cross. The instrument was constructed by Laurentium Hauslaib during the time that he served at the court of Frederick IV, elector of the Palatinate, and was probably intended for domestic use.

Technical description: Two manual keyboard instrument, upper manual is an octave virginal, lower manual is an organ; the virginal is removable from the cabinet of the organ, corner of case is angled, case of unidentified light brown wood; compass c/e-a#; bone naturals with fronts of wood and parchment cut into a trefoil design, accidentals of black-stained hardwood covered with ebony plates, two-rail keyframe with padded overhead dip rail, keys guided by metal pins in rack; jacks are pear with bristle springs, quill plectra, slots for single dampers (none present), and small lead weights, jacks guided by punched leather strips glued to soundboard and separate lower guide, two jacks share a single slot, with no divider between them; the soundboard is decorated with a pierced wood and parchment rose, painted borders, flowers, and berries.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title:

    Claviorganum

  • Maker: Lorenz Hauslaib (German, Nuremberg 1568–1625 Regensburg)
  • Maker: Organ mechanism made by Steffan Cuntz (German, ca. 1565–1629)
  • Date: 1598
  • Geography: Nürnberg, Germany
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Wood, bone, ebony, metal, pear, quill, lead, leather, parchment
  • Dimensions: Instr. 74cm x 56cm x 61cm
    Stand: 78cm x 62cm x 100cm
  • Classification: Chordophone-Zither-plucked-virginal
  • Credit Line: The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
  • Object Number: 89.4.1191
  • Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Cornetto in A, Ivory, gilt ferrule, German
Cornetto in A
German
ca. 1575
Regal, Georg Voll German, Wood, various materials, German
Regal
Georg Voll
ca. 1575
Lute, Sixtus Rauchwolff German, Rosewood, ivory, wood, ebony, German
Lute
Sixtus Rauchwolff
1596
Mandora, Boxwood, rosewood, ebony, Italian
Mandora
Italian
ca. 1420
ex "Kurtz" Violin, Andrea Amati Italian, Spruce, maple, ebony, paint, gilding, Italian (Cremona)
ex "Kurtz" Violin
Andrea Amati
ca. 1560

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.