Pochette 1671

Editor: Here we have a pochette, a dancing master's fiddle, created around 1671 by Georg Wörle. It's a slender, sculpted wood instrument, and that carved head at the top gives it such a striking character. What stories do you think this object could tell us? Curator: It’s more than just a musical instrument; it's a social document. The pochette was easily portable, enabling dancing masters to carry it and provide music for instruction in private homes or at court. The fact that it is elaborately carved – exhibiting the style of Baroque – speaks volumes about the status of music and dance in the 17th century, as well as the patron's wealth. It reveals how social graces were communicated and performed. Doesn't it make you wonder about the politics surrounding dance instruction and courtly rituals back then? Editor: That's fascinating. The carving seems so intentional, not just decorative. The detail suggests a certain power dynamic too, right? Curator: Exactly. The art world wasn't divorced from larger social and political events. The image, in this case, the carving of an animal or grotesque, functioned as a statement of power, or a commentary on social roles, and would have been interpreted as such by contemporary audiences. Are you familiar with sumptuary laws of the time? Editor: I’ve come across the term. Weren’t those laws related to limiting displays of wealth based on social class? Curator: Precisely! Consider how this instrument skirts those lines, its very existence signaling a performance of wealth and education but designed in a way that allowed its owner to perform these displays outside of traditionally acceptable performance spaces, effectively turning those social spaces into places of performative social hierarchy. Editor: That’s such a useful way of thinking about art – considering the subtle ways it reinforces and challenges the culture around it. Thanks! Curator: And thank you! Thinking through these questions with a fresh perspective has certainly deepened my understanding as well.