1836-1837
Reed Organ with Writing Table and Sewing and Dressing Box
Emilius Nicolai ScherrAmerican (born Copenhagen), 1794 - 1874
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This veneered and gilded case houses not only an organ keyboard and bellows, but also, an elegant writing table and a mirror and box for dressing and sewing implements. The narrow size of the ebony and ivory keys offers a clue that this reed organ was made for a woman; in this case, Ann Barnes Archer (1818–1892), whose husband Richard Thompson Archer (1797–1867) purchased it for her on a trip to Philadelphia in 1836 or 1837. From here, it was shipped to Anchuka, their plantation house on the Mississippi River.
The Danish-born Emilius Nicolai Scherr was an accomplished instrument maker and innovated the designs of pianos, organs, and harps. The design of this organ-like harp instrument is a hybrid that he (somewhat mysteriously) termed a "phys. harmonica."
The gilded metal ladies (or caryatids) that form the base of the reed organ are sophisticated references to ancient Greek architecture, specifically the famous Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion temple in Athens.
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