Orchestral Horn
ca. 1830
Medium
brass
Dimensions
17 × 22 1/2 × 11 1/8 in. (43.2 × 57.2 × 28.3 cm)
Classification
Aerophone-Lip Vibrated-horn
Culture
German
Department
Musical Instruments
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889
Accession Number
89.4.1110a–j
Art Historical Context
Step into the resonant world of 19th-century music with this Orchestral Horn, a finely crafted German instrument from around 1830. Made of gleaming brass and measuring 17 × 22½ × 11⅛ inches (43.2 × 57.2 × 28.3 cm), it exemplifies the era's masterful metalworking. Classified as an aerophone—-vibrated horn—this piece produced sound through buzzing lips into its bell-flared tube, a technique central to brass instruments. By the 1830s, orchestral horns were evolving rapidly in Germany, the cradle of brass innovation. This period marked the shift from natural horns, reliant on hand-stopping for no...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...