Harpsichord by Todini, M

The magnificent Golden Harpsichord by Michele Todini, dating from around 1670, is one of the greatest treasures in the musical instrument collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. More than a keyboard instrument, it formed the centrepiece of Todini's extraordinary Galleria Armonica in Rome, where music, sculpture and mechanical ingenuity combined to create theatrical spectacles. Richly adorned with gilded carvings and life-sized figures of Polyphemus and Galatea, the harpsichord reflects the opulence of the Italian Baroque and Todini's remarkable imagination. As the only surviving instrument from his celebrated collection, it stands today as both a masterpiece of decorative art and one of the most fascinating historic keyboard instruments in the world.

Photo Credit: bunny.sandefur Wikicommons