A squat, rectangular wooden music box viewed from the front. There are two sprays of roses in dark brown and a key hole on the front. On the lid is a small landscape painting depicting a house and a church nestled on forest and emerald green hills, with figures in the foreground and rolling lilac mountains in the background. There is some damage to the left side of the painting resulting in decoloration, the box itself also has minor scratches and marks on the surface.

There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

See more objects with the tag container, landscape, hinged, musical.

Object Timeline

1957	We acquired this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2016	We photographed this object. We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Music Box And Key

This is a Music box and key. It is dated late 19th century and we acquired it in 1957. Its medium is wood, brass, printed paper. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The invention of the comb and cylinder music box is accredited to the Swiss watchmaker Antoine Favre-Salomon in 1796. In the nineteenth century Geneva became an important center for music box production. The melody is produced when a rotating cylinder with projecting pins strikes the teeth of a steel comb.

It is credited From the collection of Mrs. Lathrop C. Harper.

Drawing, The Music Party
brush and watercolor, white gouache, graphite on white wove paper.
Thaw Collection.
2007-27-46

Music Stand (USA)
hand-carved cherry wood.
Gift of Mrs. Eric Larrabee.
1997-11-3

Book plate showing a graphic representation of a musical score, whereby geometric forms vary in width to indicate the duration of notes, and vertical position to show pitch. Each bar of the music is indicated by three diamonds in the colors yellow and white bordered at the top, whilst double triangles positioned to form rectangles of yellow and pink, blue and red, yellow and purple, red and grey, purple and lilac, an yellow and blue indicate chords, and tiny triangles in red and blue suggest individual notes.

Drawing, Study 140, "The Magic Fire-Scene," from Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
color pencil, graphite on cream wove paper.
Gift of the Estate of John De Cesare.
1982-25-61

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 11.1 × 40.6 × 12.1 cm (4 3/8 in. × 16 in. × 4 3/4 in.)

Cite this object as

Music Box And Key; wood, brass, printed paper; H x W x D: 11.1 × 40.6 × 12.1 cm (4 3/8 in. × 16 in. × 4 3/4 in.); From the collection of Mrs. Lathrop C. Harper; 1957-165-1-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Ellen DeGeneres Selects.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2CoFx/
Accession Number 1957-165-1-a,b
Object ID 18416829