19th century Austrian Promberger & Son hand painted grand piano

The soundboard stencilled: J. PROMBERGER & SOHN, WIEN, VII B. Neubau Hermaungrasse 25 I Stock. Opus No. 2196

Dimensions (with lid closed):
Length: 72″ (182.8 cm)
Width: 58: (147.3 cm)
Height: 37″ (93.9 cm)

Piano maker and inventor Johann Joseph Promberger Sen. (b. 1779 in Kuffulk, Tirol, d. 1834 in Vienna) started out studying carpentry and piano-making with Matthias Müller in Vienna. In 1811 he became a master craftsman, obtained citizenship of the city, and took over Michael Schweighofer’s piano company by marrying his widow, Anna. From that moment on, the company became known as Schweighofer und Promberger. Promberger experimented with the aim of building a grand piano whose sound would resemble that of the cello. He also invented a portable keyboard chime-bells for military bands. In 1824 he obtained a patent for a new system of fitting strings and a metal sound board in a piano. In 1824 he built the Sirenion, a 125-centimetre-high upright piano with double stringing and a ‘mobile’ sound board, which was unveiled to the public in 1825 by his son Johann (b. 1810, pianist, student of F. Ries and C. Czerny; in 1837 he played a series of concerts in Warsaw on a grand piano built by F. Buchholtz). In 1828 Promberger and his son showcased the Sirenion as part of a tour of Prague, Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin, receiving positive feedback. In 1829 he built its smaller version, measuring 114 cm, fitted with triple stringing. In 1832 he retired, leaving the workshop to his son Joseph. The Andrzej Szwalbe Collection in Ostromecko near Bydgoszcz owns one of the few surviving Sirenions, made c. 1825 (serial no. 14), fitted with the original action and thin aliquot strings accompanying FC bass strings-

François Boucher 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories, and pastoral scenes. He was perhaps the most celebrated painter and decorative artist of the 18th cen