Oboe with replacement body, Giovanni Maria Anciuti, Milan, 1722, ivory and gilded silver. Provenance: purchase - Venerosi Pesciolini (1998). (inv. n. ST. Mus. n. 752)

Built by the famed woodwind maker Giovanni Maria Anciuti (1674-1744), the oboe is of exceptional quality, both in terms of the richness of the materials used and the technical craftsmanship exhibited. The addition of a replacement piece for the upper part of the instrument allowing for a change in pitch was a solution that would only become commonplace after the mid-18th century.