Bassoon

Dominique Antony Porthaux

1790–1800 · Maple, brass · Musical Instruments

The most modern feature of this bassoon is the speaker key at the wing joint, meant to facilitate the playing of the highest notes. The instrument comes with two wing joints for high and low pitch, the original bocal, two boxes of period reeds, and its original case. Porthaux's basson foreshadows what later in the nineteenth century came to be called the French bassoon, as opposed to the German bassoon, featuring a colorful, slender and slightly nasal sound.

Artist

Dominique Antony Porthaux

Date

1790–1800

Medium

Maple, brass

Culture

French

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

Purchase, Clara Mertens Bequest, in memory of André Mertens, 1999