The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Clarinet in B-flat

Clarinet in B-flat

Date:: 1830
Geography:: Brussels, Belgium
Medium:: Ivory, brass
Dimensions:: L. 68 cm (26 3/4 in.); L. of mouthpiece 89 cm (35 in.); L. of barrel 70 cm (27 1/2 in.); L. of upper body section 22.1 (8 3/4 in.); L. of lower body section 25.7 cm (10 1/8 in.); L. of bell 11.8 cm (4 5/8 in.); Diam. of bell 85 cm (33 1/2 in.)
Classification:: Aerophone-Reed Vibrated
Credit Line:: Funds from various donors, 1953
Accession Number:: 53.223

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 684

Description

This clarinet in B-flat is marked C. Sax for Charles Joseph Sax (1791–1865) whose son Adolphe invented the saxophone. The quality, tone, and forms of musical instruments are largely determined by the materials chosen for their construction. Elephant-tusk ivory, a particularly adaptable but exotic material, has long been employed in fashioning instruments of great value.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: Marked: C. Sax, Facteur de Roi, à Bruxelles and bearing the Prince of Orange's motto and arms.
References

Libin Laurence. "Musical Instruments in The Metropolitan Museum." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1978), Vol. XXXV, No. 3, pg. 39, ill.

Winternitz Emanuel. Musical Instruments of the Western World. McGraw Hill Book Company. New York, Toronto, 1967, pg. 240-241, fig. 96, ill.
See also
Who
Charles Joseph Sax (5)
What
Metal (59,364)

Copper alloy (16,630)

Bone (6,328)

Ivory (5,389)

Musical instruments (5,241)

Brass (3,505)

Aerophones (2,182)

Reeds (593)

Reedpipes (314)

Clarinets (108)
Where
Europe (148,586)

Belgium (1,232)

Brussels (289)
When
A.D. 1800-1900 (80,185)
In the Museum
Musical Instruments (5,221)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Central Europe and Low Countries, 1800–1900 A.D.