The piano featured in an early "luxurious" wine commercial that was filmed in the Athfields' iconic Khandallah mansion.
Ms Hutchison said it took logistical planning to manoeuvre the piano out of the Athfields' sprawling home, which has an array of very complex rooms.
The piano was made in the 1880s in London and was "absolutely top of the line at the time".
Ms Hutchison said settlers were limited to items they could bring to New Zealand on the voyage and they would have had to sacrifice a lot to bring the piano.
"It would have been a physical effort to get it here, then challenging to relocate with our rugged, hilly terrain."
Ms Hutchison said the exhibition is about Victorian landscape and the changes that happened quickly when colonists arrived.
As a small tribute to Mr Athfield, the "highly regarded Hopkinson" takes centre stage at the new colonial collection exhibition.
"We wanted it to be seen amongst other extraordinary pieces.
"Mr Athfield had so much grace, wisdom and humility and he was conscientious about history.
"We are fortunate to benefit from his legacy."
Ms Hutchison said that some Williams' descendants still live in Wairarapa, and she hopes that they will come forward with information about the piano's earlier history.
The exhibition Settling the Land: Order out of Chaos? runs until May 10.
