How did we wind up with the color of the piano keys being white & black & not some other colors?

Question

What colors were used before finally arriving at the black and white arrangement we have today? Was it a conscious choice of color or material that led to the colors?

Answer 1

i think other colors make your eye feel distracted(like pink or yellow....)
and i think piano was supposed to cheer up the royal families in the old day so it should be very elegant in style and neat.

Answer 2

It was materials. Ivory was used for the white keys and ebony wood for the black keys.

Answer 3

Because ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano keyboard, why dont we?