Day 250 - Silver kettle drum



 June 17, 2021

Gallery 683 also contains only two main items. The first is a spectacular pair of silver kettle drums, each perhaps 28 inches in diameter and 16 inches high, that was made in Germany in 1779 for the Hanoverian Life Guards of King George III. The placard informs me that George was not only king of England but also an elector of Hanover. The drums bear the royal coat of arms, and,  as one might imagine, were ceremonial instruments that were used in processions marking state events.  The refinement of the silver work is remarkable; you can see the musculature in the bodies of the rampant lion and the unicorn that flank the coat of arms I'm struck by the fact that the coat of arms is replete with fleur-de-lis (a design element that clearly wasn't uniquely French) and bears the French inscriptions "Honi soit qui mal y pense" and "Dieu et mon droit." It's a reminder of the complex interconnections between the Brits and the French. 

The second instrument is an organ made by Thomas Appleton of Boston. I struggle to understand a nearby display case that shows how an organ works, and I can't say I really get it. But I do take away the point that the organ is a wind instrument. I think of the Appleton Chapel at Harvard. I'v'e got to assume it's the same family.

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