Guitarra Séptima (Seven-course guitar) 1875 - 1885

Editor: This is a stunning seven-course guitar, or Guitarra Séptima, crafted sometime between 1875 and 1885. It's made of wood and currently resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The intricate details immediately catch my eye—it's less of an instrument and more of a decorative sculpture! What symbolism can we find within the ornamental design? Curator: Precisely. Consider the visual language at play here. Floral motifs are not merely decorative. They evoke ideas of growth, blossoming, and even ephemerality, reminding us of the transient nature of beauty and life. The meticulous detailing of the headstock with the vase filled with blooms points towards fertility, creativity, and the bounty of artistic expression. Do you notice anything about the overall shape and the choice of materials? Editor: Well, the mother-of-pearl inlays seem to catch the light beautifully. It's iridescent quality reminds me of water, which feels significant given the other life symbols we're seeing. The guitar shape is evocative as well, sensual even. Curator: Exactly! Think about how musical instruments, guitars, and stringed instruments specifically, have served as symbols in art history. Consider the lyre of Apollo, and Orpheus enchanting all beings through music. In this instance, it's about the potential for harmony – in music, in life. The seven courses may point towards complex harmonies, but the overt display reminds the viewer that surface appearance is as meaningful as inherent musical qualities. How might the seven courses themselves carry significance? Editor: Seven… perhaps alluding to completeness, like the seven days of the week or even the planets. So, it suggests a complete and harmonious world, expressed through music? I hadn't thought about the musical capacity and appearance in equal weight like that before! Curator: It’s an invitation to consider how visual culture imprints symbolic value onto the objects we create, transforming functional tools into vessels of meaning. And it begs the question, how do these objects inform our perceptions? Editor: It really gives a lot more depth to what I originally just considered pretty ornamentation! Thank you.