Spinet
Date1785
Place MadeStrasbourg, Alsace, France, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedLabel on soundboard:Jean henry Silbermann
Facteur de Forté-Piano &
de Clavecin 1785.
á Strasbourg.
DescriptionJohann Heinrich Silbermann (1727-1799) learned instrument making from his father, the Strasbourg organ builder Andreas Silbermann, and in the 1740s he also worked in Saxony with his uncle, Gottfried Silbermann, the prominent German organ builder of the period who was also famous for his clavichords, harpsichords, and pianos.
Beautifully veneered in book-matched walnut, the instrument rests on a stand with Louis XVI style fluted legs. Soundboard with fine gilt geometrical rose made of layers of cut parchment. As in many central-German instruments, the bridge and nut are stained black.
Compass: FF-f3 (5 octaves).
DimensionsString length: c2: 341 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1999 from Wolfgang Ruf, Emmetten, Switzerland.
Published ReferencesGermann, Sheridan. “Harpsichord Decoration: A Conspectus,” in Howard Schott, ed., The Historical Harpsichord, vol. 4 (Hillsdale, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 2002), p. 177.
"Keyboards in Vermillion: with John Koster" (interview), Harpsichord & Fortepiano, 16, no. 2 (Spring 2012), p. 19.
Koster, John. "Rare 1785 Silbermann Spinet Only Example Outside of Europe," America's Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter, 26, No. 2 (May 1999), pp. 1-3.
-------. “Historical Organs in the Museum Context,” The Tracker 50, Nos. 3 & 4 (Summer/Fall 2006), pp. 32 and 35.
Credit LineRawlins Fund, 1999
Object number06205
On View
On view
