PLEYEL
Harp, presumably 1831-1832
Double action harp
168.5 x 88.5 x 54 cm
Coll. MIM, inv. 0629
Donation of King Leopold II in 1880
This harp was owned by Louise-Marie d'Orléans (1812-1850), first Queen of the Belgians. On this harp, before her marriage to King Leopold I in 1832, she had received harp lessons at the French court from François-Joseph Dizi (1780-1840), a harpist from Namur. She took it to Brussels and it was donated by King Leopold II to the MIM in 1880.
The instrument’s royal origins can be seen in the Gothic letter ‘L’, with a crown on top of it, at the level of the pedals. On the neck bears the inscription : ‘harpes à simple et à double mouvement (par brevet d’invention) de F. DIZI. Clle Pleyel & Cie. Invoices du Roi, Rue Cadet N°9, à Paris’. The patent referred to in the inscription dates from 1830 and concerns a reinforcement of the sounding board with a thin layer of mahogany, which protects it from cracks and deformations.
