Antique Viennese Austrian Hand Painted Porcelain Grand Piano Swiss Music Box

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Antique Viennese Austrian Hand Painted Porcelain Grand Piano Swiss Music Box:
$7499.99

Antique Viennese Austrian Hand-Painted Porcelain Ormolu Grand Piano Music Box, circa 1850s–1870s, in working condition.

A rare and exceptionally decorative 19th-century Viennese piano-form music box, made in Austria and featuring fully hand-painted porcelain panels mounted within an ornate ormolu grand piano case.

The porcelain decoration is entirely hand painted and depicts romantic courting scenes, giving the piece a strong and deliberate courtship-and-marriage theme.

The musical program beautifully complements the artwork and further strengthens this romantic and matrimonial interpretation. The Swiss two-air cylinder movement plays two compositions by Richard Wagner: the “Tannhäuser March,” also known as the “Entry of the Guests at the Wartburg,” followed by Wagner’s famous “Bridal Chorus” from *Lohengrin*, commonly known as “Here Comes the Bride” or the Wedding March.

The pairing is particularly significant. Rather than containing two unrelated popular airs, the movement is programmed with two Wagner compositions having a strongly ceremonial and processional character, culminating in the Bridal Chorus, one of the most recognizable pieces of wedding music ever written.

An especially charming feature is the way the musical mechanism is integrated into the jewelry casket itself. During normal use, opening the piano lid triggers one of the two tunes, which plays through and then stops automatically. The mechanism alternates between its two airs, so a later opening can produce the other melody.

The box can also continue into the alternate air if the lid is raised farther, but I do NOT recommend using it this way. The trigger system relies on a delicate string linkage, and unnecessary over-travel of the lid could place added stress on that connection. The box is best enjoyed by opening the lid normally and allowing each tune to play and stop as intended.

This creates a wonderfully whimsical effect: each time the miniature piano is opened to access the jewelry compartment, it can present a different melody. Combined with the hand-painted courting scenes and the sequence of a lively love/courting tune followed by Wagner’s Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, the design creates a remarkably cohesive progression from courtship to marriage.

Together, the hand-painted courting scenes and deliberately selected two-tune Wagner musical program create a remarkably unified romantic narrative progressing from courtship and ceremonial celebration to marriage. This strongly suggests the piece may originally have been intended as a luxury romantic, engagement, wedding, or bridal presentation object.

The music box is fitted with a Swiss two-tune cylinder movement. The spring cover is marked “SWISS,” while the underside of the piano is hand painted “AUSTRIA” in black.

Several construction details support an early-to-mid 19th-century mechanical tradition, including the ormolu finish, the separate key-wound Swiss cylinder movement with square winding arbor, and the original-style cat-gut-operated automatic lid trigger.

The dating can also be narrowed by the music itself. Because one of the two airs is Wagner’s Bridal Chorus from *Lohengrin*, which premiered in 1850, the original movement cannot predate 1850 if it is original to the piano. Wagner’s *Tannhäuser* had premiered slightly earlier, in 1845. For that reason, a date in the 1850s–1870s is especially plausible, with circa 1860–1870 being a reasonable working estimate.

The Swiss movement is wound with a separate key that fits over a square winding arbor, similar to the winding system found on antique clocks. This differs from many later examples that use an attached or threaded winding knob.

The piano also retains its original-style automatic lid-trigger system. When the piano lid is opened, the trigger activates the musical movement and the music begins playing. The original linkage used cat gut, a traditional material used in early mechanical applications. After approximately 150 years, the original gut had deteriorated and has been replaced so the automatic lid-opening function now works properly again.

Finding one of these large Viennese piano music boxes with its musical mechanism still operating is uncommon. Finding one with the automatic lid-trigger system functioning as intended is considerably rarer, although repaired. These pieces contain delicate springs, combs, pins, governors, linkages, trigger components, and porcelain panels that are easily damaged, lost, disconnected, or altered over generations.

The felt cover over the musical mechanism is a later replacement made to match the interior. The remaining interior fabric appears original.

A working antique winding key is included. The key is period in appearance and properly operates the square winding arbor, although I cannot confirm that it is the original key supplied with this exact music box.

Approximate measurements:

6 3/4" long

4 1/4" wide

3 3/8" tall

This is one of the larger piano-form examples, as Viennese musical pianos of this type were produced in different sizes.

CONDITION:

Overall very good antique condition considering age, with expected age-related wear and imperfections.

There are several small areas along the edges of the hand-painted porcelain where the porcelain has cracked or chipped beneath the ormolu trim.

One corner retains a small loose porcelain fragment behind the metal mount. The fragment is still present and can shift slightly back into position if the piano is tilted.

When closed, the piano lid does not sit completely flush and a small gap remains along one side. This may be related to the internal lid-support arm/prop, which sits high beneath the lid when opened, but I have not confirmed the exact cause. Please see photos.

The Swiss two-tune musical mechanism is working properly, including the automatic lid-trigger function.

The felt mechanism cover is a later replacement made to match the interior. The other interior fabric appears original.

Please review all photographs carefully, especially the close-up condition images, as they form an important part of the description.

The combination of its large size, extensive hand-painted porcelain, ormolu construction, early separate-key Swiss two-tune movement, functioning automatic lid-trigger mechanism, surviving period interior fabric, antique winding key, romantic courtship imagery, and especially its unusual two-Wagner musical program of the “Tannhäuser March” and the Bridal Chorus from *Lohengrin* makes this a particularly special surviving example of 19th-century Viennese musical decorative art.

The combination of the courting scenes with a musical sequence culminating in Wagner’s Bridal Chorus gives this example an unusually strong wedding-related character and may indicate that it was originally commissioned, purchased, or presented in connection with an engagement or marriage.

Please view all pictures carefully for condition prior to purchasing. Thank you!

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