Vienna c. 1805/10 attributed to Jakob F. BLEYER (1778-1812), plaquette above the keyboard "C. Baldeneker, Magacin de Musique a Amsterdam", 6 octaves, ivory keyboard, long stringing, 5 pedals, mahogany veneered hardwood and softwood body with upward tapering soundbox on square-cut legs - the latter with full-round carved and gilt eagles, high-quality partly fire-gilt bronze fittings in the form of allegories and mythological scenes, the underside of the keyboard with a paper label inscribed with ink “Empire upright grand piano, made for Hortense Bonaparte when Queen of Holland, C. Baldinecker maker, Amsterdam, given by city of Amsterdam”, c. 220 x 120 x 57 cm, signs of age and use, without guarantee for proper functioning. (DOC)

Subject to conservation legislation (ASI)
A certificate for commercial activities (CITES) is available.

Provenance:
originally South German castle ownership
former holding of the collection of the Dutch Queen Hortense de Beauharnais.

A so-called giraffe piano (“forte-piano en giraffe”) is a fortepiano with vertical strings in the shape of a harp, i.e. asymmetrical.
Renowned piano makers active in Vienna at this time, such as Jakob F. BLEYER (1778-1812), Josef WACHTL (ca. 1808) and F.M. SEUFFERT (1772-1847), claim to have invented this type of upright piano. The plaque above the keyboard with the name C. BALDENEKER should not be interpreted as a piano maker, but as a musical instrument dealer in Amsterdam. From an iconographic point of view, the body and the numerous applications in the form of fire-gilt bronze fittings correspond rather to the style of the Viennese Empire around 1800 - this is corroborated by a large fire-gilt bronze fitting on the cover of the lower resonance box by FRANZ D. DETLER, an outstanding medallist who was responsible for many bronzes of important furniture in the first half of the 19th century. An identical bronze fitting can be found in the upper part of a Viennese lyre secretary desk, which is preserved in the collection of the MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) in Vienna.
Based on the paper label, which testifies to the great affection of the Dutch citizens for the new royal dynasty, it is reasonable to assume that the upright fortepiano reached the court of Queen Hortense, who was known as a music lover, composer and pianist, through the instrument dealer Baldeneker in Amsterdam.
Hortense de BEAUHARNAIS, born on 10.4.1783, was the daughter of Alexandre, Vicomte de BEAUHARNAIS and Joséphine TASCHER DE LA PAGERIE (later Empress of France). After her father's execution in 1794 during the Reign of Terror, her mother Joséphine married General Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. Hortense subsequently married Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte in 1802, upon which Napoleon made them Kings of the Netherlands.