A unique, 1902, Bechstein Model C grand piano with a mahogany case, inlaid with a variety of woods in an Art Nouveau design of flowers and sinuous tendrils. This piano  had one previous owner  Julius Gutermann, a wealthy victorian industrialist. It was commissioned by Julius Gutermann for their family home, Villa Orehta.The piano was delivered to Julius Gütermann in the town of Gutach / Breisgau. Bechstein’s delivery records (the only written paper that made it through the ww in Berlin), states: Serial Number 61262 was sent on 30th of November 1902.   The Gütermann family is renowned for its manufacture of stitching silks. Gütermann & Co. was founded in Vienna in 1864 by Max Gütermann specailising in the production of silk threads from raw silk. Along the sides of this Bechstein model C grand piano is an inlaid panel of rhythmic scrolling stylised flowers, leaves and tendrils. The tendrils are sinuous and curvy. The inlaid panel is on a band of satinwood that contrasts against the fiddleback mahogany cabinet.The piano fall has a central inlaid motif. It again features the theme of intricate vegetation as seen in the flowers, leaves and stems inlaid in a variety of exotic woods. The leaves follow the whiplash lines typical of this art period, reminiscent of leaves blowing in the wind.The Legs  are cupular in form with a central inlaid panel.The piano lid  has central plaques in rosewood surrounded by intertwining curvaceous tendrils and stylised flowers in flat perspective in a variey of exotic woods. Again the whiplash lines are apparent in the sinuous stems. The flowers reminiscent of roses or tulips are bulbous in design.Professor Dr. Sonja Günther, an Art Nouveau specialist wrote in a description of the piano “Der Flügel ist etwas streng in der Kontur; die Ornamentik symmetrisch. Sie deutet in ihrer Herkunft auf Darmstadt hin.” “The piano is somewhat severe in outline, the ornamentation symmetrical. That points its origin back to Darmstadt, Germany” The Darmstadt Artists’ Colony refers both to a group of Jugendstil artists as well as to the buildings in Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt in which these artists lived and worked. The artists’ colony was founded in 1899 by Ernest Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse. The artists’ goal was to be the development of modern and forward-looking forms of construction and living. To this end, Ernst Ludwig brought together several artists of the Art Nouveau in Darmstadt: Peter Behrens, Paul Bürck, Rudolf Bosselt, Hans Christiansen, Ludwig Habich, Patriz Huber and Joseph Maria Olbrich.Make:     Bechstein Model C
Serial Number:     61262
Age:     1902
Wood:     Mahogany
Finish:     French polish
Size [cm]:     length: 222   width: 154
Size [inches]:     length: 88   width: 61 This piano is currently in the UK and for sale at Besbrode Pianos Leeds.If you have any questions about this piano you can contact us by contact us by phone: +44 (0) 113 2448344