Quinton d'Amore 1750 - 1800

Curator: Just feast your eyes on this remarkable piece, “Quinton d’Amore,” an 18th-century sculpture currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s a Baroque-style instrument, primarily crafted from wood. Editor: Immediately, it gives me a rather sorrowful impression. Almost as if the instrument has seen—or heard—too much. But, what's with the head up there? Is that supposed to be a deity of some sort? Curator: Yes! The carving on the pegbox features the image of a woman, like some silent guardian, overlooking every note ever played on those strings. D'amore instruments in particular carried these iconic adornments as a form of personification—of the spirit that moves throughout song and the arts. Editor: Interesting. So, the female head is representative of love? It feels almost contradictory to the subdued nature I initially sensed. Curator: Think about baroque music and the period, itself, for a moment. All those frills! Think of those ornamental twists. This instrument would represent both sides: its sonic quality and it’s physical beauty. That juxtaposition mirrors life— joy tempered with pain. It’s baroque in its purest form, a dramatic statement wrought from simple wood. The love of life and music and how inextricably connected those ideals could become! Editor: And now, reflecting upon that symbolism, I sense something akin to resilience too. Even faded, silent now, the craftsmanship tells stories beyond melody alone. Curator: Indeed, and that, my friend, is the enduring enchantment woven within this instrument’s very grain. What was originally a song and sound, soon becomes our own personal memories. It serves as our shared narrative, a story we can learn together, listen to with intent and share in an entirely new way.