Maker
Erard
Maison Erard
Erard was a French maker of pianos and harps founded by Sebastien Erard in Paris in the late eighteenth century, renowned for developing the double-action pedal harp and the double-escapement piano action.
Models
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Erard Empire Harp
France
The Erard Empire harp is an early Erard pedal harp pattern produced from the late 1790s, decorated in the French Empire style fashionable under Napoleon. Roughly 1,500 Empire-model harps were made between about 1798 and 1840, making it one of the firm's two principal early patterns alongside the Grecian. Erard's Empire harps span the transition from the single-action to the 1810 patented double-action mechanism.
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Erard Gothic Harp
France
The Erard Gothic harp is a double-action pedal harp introduced by Erard around 1835, distinguished by Gothic Revival ornament such as a column carved with entwining vine and ribbon and figurative detailing. It succeeded the earlier Grecian pattern as the firm's principal concert harp design through the mid-nineteenth century. Like the Grecian, it used Erard's patented double-action pedal mechanism.
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Erard Grecian Harp
France
The Erard Grecian harp is a double-action pedal harp produced by the Paris and London workshops of Erard from the 1810s, named for its Greco-Roman decorative scheme of a fluted gilt column and classical palmette motifs. It was Erard's most widely produced harp pattern, with roughly 3,500 examples made between about 1798 and 1840. The Grecian model used Erard's patented double-action mechanism, enabling the instrument to play fully in all keys.
Sources
Representative model
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Erard Grecian Harp
France
The Erard Grecian harp is a double-action pedal harp produced by the Paris and London workshops of Erard from the 1810s, named for its Greco-Roman decorative scheme of a fluted gilt column and classical palmette motifs. It was Erard's most widely produced harp pattern, with roughly 3,500 examples made between about 1798 and 1840. The Grecian model used Erard's patented double-action mechanism, enabling the instrument to play fully in all keys.