Flute c. 1790

Curator: This is a flute dating from around 1790, made from wood, and attributed to Jean Baptiste Martin. What do you make of it? Editor: It's…quiet. There's something almost mournful about its simple design. I imagine folk melodies and simpler times. Curator: Consider its construction, the seemingly seamless blending of natural materials with the precise crafting of holes. The ivory-colored rings aren't just decorative, but functional binding for the wooden segments. Editor: And it's so...plain. Today, flutes are crafted from precious metals, adorned, and embellished. This humble material choice whispers tales of necessity and utility driving its form. Like folk art from a less commercial moment in time. Curator: Exactly. It reflects a period where access to exotic materials would've been more difficult. The aesthetic prioritizes simple function. We might even speculate about its maker: artisan or journeyman? Editor: Perhaps the choice of common wood was less about cost and more about the accessibility of the sonic resonance. Imagine someone sourcing wood from their backyard. It makes you think about locality and the human touch involved. Curator: You highlight an important aspect. Early music production wasn't disconnected from access to local resources and knowledge about the sonic qualities of material. In many respects, we lost this intimate relation to the means of artistic production in the age of mass manufacturing. Editor: Absolutely. When you look at the instrument as a purely commercial product you extract from its significance. But to consider its materiality gives it breath again. Curator: It makes you wonder who owned and played this particular flute. Editor: Absolutely. I almost hear a ghostly melody coming from it. Well, it certainly makes one ponder the echoes of simpler times.