Square Piano

Johannes Zumpe

1767 · Mahogany, iron, brass, ivory, ebony, various materials · Musical Instruments

Zumpe was a pivotal piano maker who introduced a design for a small, rectangula piano that was affordable and appealed to members of the growing middle class. Zumpe's design is known as a square piano and he introduced it in 1766. Johann Christian Bach the Queen's music master, endorsed the instrument in 1768. The growing popularity of the instrument led to Zumpe pioneering large-scape piano manufacturing in London. This example is one of the earliest extant square pianos by Zumpe and has a mahogany case with plain trestle stand, four square legs, and three cross braces. It has a 58 note range (GG–f3) with a dummy low G-sharp key, ivory natural keys and ebony accidentals. The internal mechanism, or action, is known as the English single action. Two brass hand stops to the left of the keyboard control the dambers in the treble and the bass.

Artist

Johannes Zumpe

Date

1767

Medium

Mahogany, iron, brass, ivory, ebony, various materials

Culture

British

Department

Musical Instruments

Credit line

The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889