Giraffe piano c. 1830 - 1840

Curator: Isn't this peculiar? It looks like a baby grand decided to stretch for the sky. The "Giraffe Piano," crafted sometime between 1830 and 1840 by Joannes van Raay en Zonen, is an exceptional specimen. You don’t see many pianos aspiring to be towers. Editor: My first thought is that it appears self-conscious. Like a piano trying desperately to be something more, something grander, with that upright back straining to become architectural. It's beautiful, yes, but almost painfully aspirational. Curator: Precisely! That striving is embedded in the materiality. Look at the mahogany, likely imported at considerable expense. Consider also the decorative fabric and the metal details; all these speak to a deliberate aspiration towards wealth and refinement. Editor: Absolutely. I’m imagining a small parlor, perhaps struggling to keep up appearances, yet this giraffe piano proudly proclaims their musicality, sophistication, and potential for so much more. It's more than just an instrument; it is performative class. Curator: We must consider labor involved. From the selection of timber, its curing and shaping, to the precise assembly of the keyboard mechanism. The production relies on multiple levels of artisan involvement. Even the fabric selection and fitting point to the division of labor at the time. Editor: It’s like the piano is singing a quiet song about those very artisans – their hopes, dreams and calloused hands. I can imagine someone playing a melancholic tune on it on a cloudy day; it speaks to personal narrative intertwined with craftsmanship. Curator: In closing, let's note how this object blurs distinctions between art and craft. It challenges those historical hierarchies. We consider this as furniture, as music technology but its construction involved a network of labor and commodity exchange we would otherwise overlook. Editor: I will remember it most as an evocative character. An unusual witness standing sentinel between a beautiful drawing room and silent history. The "Giraffe Piano" is no mute instrument. It hums with stories if only we care to listen.