Model represents the clavichord, i.e. piano from maker Christian Kintzing (German, 1707–1804 Neuwied).
Clavichords were built as far back as the early fifteenth century, and perhaps earlier. This most personal, simplest, and quietest of European keyboard instruments was the perfect vehicle for music pedagogy, keyboard practice, and composition throughout its 400-year history. The action of the clavichord is relatively simple: the finger depresses a key which, working as a lever, causes its opposite end to rise so that a metal tongue (or tangent) hits a metal string, causing it to resonate. When the key is released, the string is damped.
Painting “Der Triumph der Amphitrite” by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo