This is a standard orchestral natural horn as used in France from the end of the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century. It is equipped with a full set of eight terminal crooks and one coupler giving a range of the most common keys from B♭ basso to B♭ alto. Keys: SI, UT, RE, MB, MD, FA, SOL, LA, SI.  The natural horn was taught a the Paris Conservatoire throughout the nineteenth century despite the development of the valved horn.

The firm of Halary was founded in Paris in 1804 by Jean Halary Asté (ca. 1775 - ca. 1840) and flourished through three generations until 1873. This horn is estimated to date from about 1830 in the workshop of his son, Jean Louis Antoine Halary (1788-1861) or possibly earlier in the shop of the elder who retired in 1825.

The bell is painted in typical French fashion but with a series of four views presumably of bridges into Paris instead of the more common geometric or floral patterns.