THE DESIGN OF GRAND PIANOS. 



101. IN iin. &amp;lt; iiiPi Kxn.u.K MANNER. 



Mackenzie which was decorated all 



over in gesso. Two years earlier Sir 



Lawrence (then Mr.) Alma Tadema had 



designed for himself a grand piano of 



great merit, made beautiful by inlay 



and carving of Byzantine feeling, but 



the ordinary form was retained. The 



qualities of the Burne-Jones pianos, 



which mark them as re-creating old and 



tine traditions, were, first, the rejection 



of the three-legged principle and the 



return to a six-legged under-frame con 



nected by stretchers, and, secondly, the 



return to a pleasant line for the curve 



of the bent side. This Burne-Jones 



drew out full size and free-hand, and 



by a singular coincidence the propor 



tions of the curve proved to be 



identical with those employed by the 



eighteenth century makers of harpsi 



chords. ()t the splendid paintings on 



both sides of the lid and on the circular 



medallions it is not needful to write, 



for the illustration tells its own story. The piano designed by Sir Robert Loonier and decorate;! by Mrs 



Traquair (Figs, q; and &amp;lt;)S) is in some sort the lineal descendant of the Burne- [ones instrument. 



Sir Robert has reverted to the idea which inspired the early makers of keyed instruments by treating 



the piano itself and its supports as separate things, i.e., by making it a painted box upon&quot; a trestle 



stand. It was made for Lympne Castle, Kent, and in order that the woodwork might be in character 



with the linen-fold panelling of the Great Hall there, the mouldings of the ease have the touch of domestic 



Gothic work. The outside of the lid has been covered by Mrs. Traquair with a freely-treated Arabesque 



tree, rising from a world full of flowers, with Cupid sleeping in the centre. Among the branches of the 



tree are fauns, angels, centaurs, dragons and birds, while behind the world is a sea full of fishes. All 



these delightful conceits are depicted in transparent oil-colours on a ground of gilt toned to a greenish 



tint, the natural wood not showing anywhere. It is a form of technique which demands great certainty 



of touch, because the work is finished as done, and it is impossible to make any alteration without a fresh 



ground. 



The decoration of the piano is so well worked out in idea as well as execution that space must be 

 spared for a description of it. On the inside of the lid is a large picture of Psyche meeting Pan, who 

 symbolises the music of Nature. The 

 god is seated on the round green 

 world, surrounded by water, on which 

 Psvche stands, looking at him with a 

 gaze instinct with wonder. Pan, how 

 ever, is absorbed in the music of his 

 pipes and does not observe her ; but 

 Eros with his bow surveys them both. 

 Round the outside of the case on its 

 vertical surfaces is a series of nine 

 panels which illustrate the greatest of 

 songs the Song of Solomon. In the 

 first scene (which begins at the treble 

 end of the instrument) the Shulamite 

 is brought before Solomon, who sits in 

 the porch of his palace. In the second 

 panel (which does not appear in the 

 photographs) she is with the King in 

 his banqueting-hall. Next follows the 

 picture of her in the Women s Rooms, 

 with the shepherd stretching his 

 hands through the bars of the 

 windows, while an attendant plays 



102. A SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE DESIGN. 



