Original Madame Butterfly Christman & Sons Oriental Baby Grand Piano
Custom Painted Oriental Style Christman & Sons Baby Grand Piano featuring scenes from Opera "Madame Butterfly"
$40,000 after total restoration
(not including applicable sales tax & shipping charges)
Year: 1920
Length: 5 feet
Finish: Faux Burl Wood with Hand-Painted Scenery
Status: Currently Undergoing RestorationShipping services »
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Instrument Description
This lovely Christman & Sons baby grand piano was inspired by the famous Opera "Madame Butterfly". During the 'teens and 'twenties, Madame Butterfly became one of the most celebrated and attended Operas in history and is still a part of standard Operatic repertoire today. In about 1920, the year this piano was built, Japan's best-known opera singer Tamaki Miura won international fame for her performances as Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly).
In the early 20th Century, it was not uncommon for a wealthy client to visit a piano factory, choose the instrument they preferred among all others, then have the factory commission a specialized cabinet maker and artist to design and build a custom cabinet around the instrument they chose. This piano would have been picked out among many for its fine tone quality, and then a small fortune spent to have the cabinet custom made to suit the client’s preferred décor. Imagine the prestige of having a custom made baby grand piano adorned with hand-painted scenery from Madame Butterfly!
This piano is finished in a beautiful faux burl wood finish with greens, golds, aquas, and browns accented with blues, reds and brilliant detail. Each of the hand-painted scenes show immaculate detail from the colorful villages to the expressive faces painted on each character. Overall, the instrument has a truly stunning appearance unlike anything available on the market today. The piano is being totally restored to like new condition, inside and out, and the original matching bench is included. Computerized player mechanisms can be installed if desired.
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Miscellaneous Ephemera
Christman Advertisement
Early 20th Century Christman Sales Advertisement, Circa about 1917
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Original Madame Butterfly Christman & Sons Oriental Baby Grand Piano
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