AMSTERDAM - NETHERLANDS
RIJKS MUSEUM
The Rijksmuseum is the iconic museum of the Netherlands. In 80 galleries, 8.000 objects (paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, objects from Dutch history, silver, porcelain, glassware, ceramics, furniture, jewellery, costumes, textiles, and of course musical instruments) tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The Rijksmuseum’s collection of instruments includes about 500 objects. They were mostly acquired in the second half of the 19th century from private collectors such as the Dutch composer and musicologist Johan Coenradus Boers (1812-1896). Other instruments were donated by art lovers or were placed on permanent loan by the State and institutions such as the Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap (the Royal Historical Society), the Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden (the Cabinet of Rarities), and the City of Amsterdam. From 1952 to 2012 the collection was given on long-term loan to the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. After the Rijksmuseum renovation, in 2013, the entire collection was brought back to Amsterdam. Among the items on display are pieces of exceptional rarity and quality such as the ivory hunting horn given in 1095 to the Bishop of Utrecht; the 1593 French trombone and early 17th-century cornettos played by the Staadtpfeiffers of the city of Amsterdam; an outstanding selection of 17th and 18th-century Dutch woodwind instruments (such as shawms, oboes and recorders); 17th and early 18th century viols, keyboard instruments including the luxury 1808 Erard piano which was bought by King Louis Bonaparte for the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.
Address :
Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Nederland
Curator of musical instruments :
Dr. Giovanni Paolo Di Stefano
E-mail :
g.di.stefano@rijksmuseum.nl