ConNext-2021

70 Concept for the conservation of an early square piano constructed in the second half of the 18 th century. KEYWORDS: square piano, concept, conservation, reconstruction, 18 th century. The presentation is about an early square piano constructed in the second half of the 18 th century. Thanks to the museum Schloss Homburg in Nümbrecht the square piano was made available for academic purposes. After a brief description of the object and its present condition, one possible concept of conservation will be discussed. In this context, different approaches will be introduced and ethically scrutinised. Currently, the square piano is in a poor condition and shows signs of age. Due to its use as a musical instrument, there are various signs of attrition. Some elements are damaged or missing. In its present condition the instrument is not playable. The instrument needs to be conserved to be exhibited again. The object has a very interesting history. Several changes and conversions can be detected, some of them show a high quality such as the graining on the corpus. However, the object also shows rather unprofessional conversions that might confuse the viewer. The straight bridge, for example, deviates from the original bridge which had a s-shaped form. Furthermore, the strings are now fixed with screws instead of hitch-pins, which seem to be the result of an inappropriate conversion. There are various questions regarding the concept. Which goals can and should be achieved with the conservation of the object? Which possibilities does the restorer have to reconstruct specific parts of the construction? What expectations does the museum visitor have and which aspects might be confusing? How relevant is the playability of the instrument and how can it be achieved? It is necessary to find comparative objects for the reconstruction of some parts, for example the missing bridge. Finding a suitable instrument for comparison, however, is challenging due to the fact that every square piano of the 18 th century was constructed individually. In conclusion, the priority should be to stabilize the object to avoid further loss and damage. In order to achieve a complete appearance of the object essential steps for reconstruction need to be initiated one at a time. susanne.klug[at ]smail.th ‐ koeln.de