Natural Horn 1790 - 1830

This Natural Horn was made by John Köhler, sometime between 1770 and 1870, but we can't know exactly when. Horns like these existed in a world before valves, when music was created with nothing but the player’s breath and skill. Köhler was one of many instrument makers active in Europe during this time. Their work coincided with a flourishing of music in European courts and cities. To understand Köhler's horn, we might ask how instruments came to be luxury items, what the social function of music was at the time, and how the Industrial Revolution shaped instrument making. We could examine trade routes, court records, or even listen to the music that would have been played on it. Art is never created in a vacuum, so the historian must examine the complex web of social and institutional forces that gave it shape.