Grand Piano by Boehm, J

Napoleon's second wife, Marie Louise, is believed to have owned this grand piano while she was grand duchess of Parma. The exotic elm veneer is enriched by mercury-gilt mounts depicting grapevines, acanthus, and Psyche at a tripod brazier; imperial eagles crown the legs and nameplate. The original griffin-shaped pedal support was lost during World War II. The instrument has a six octave range (seventy-three keys), the size that was customary at the time, around when Beethoven was composing his late piano works. Joseph Böhm, the builder of this sumptuous piano, was a member of Vienna's civic keyboard-maker's association Credit: Met Museum