Flute, C
Maker
Claude Laurent
Date1817 ca.
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
Serial No.None
SignedEngraved on socket ferrule of headjoint: C. LAURENT À PARIS / BrevetéDescription4 sections: headjoint, upper body joint, middle body joint, and foot joint. Conical simple system, with four keys mounted in posts. "Crystal" (potash glass) fluted body with silver keywork and ferrules. Endcap has a clear "crystal" diamond cut, with chased silverwork. Keys have amber-colored "jewels" on covers. No cork in headjoint; uses a cemented glass disc. Safety hooks in headjoint and middle body joint.
Parisian clock maker and mechanic, Claude Laurent (1774-1849), invented the technology to produce glass flutes that became an early 19th-century novelty. He first patented his "flute en cristal," a leaded glass flute, in 1806 and won a silver medal that year at the Industrial Exposition in Paris. Laurent’s flutes were expensive items, made for and sold to prominent flute players, collectors, and some were presented to world leaders such as: James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, Emperor Napoleon I of France, King Louis Napoleon of Holland, King Joseph Bonaparte of Spain, and Emperor Franz I of Austria.
Dimensions(All measurements exclude tenons)
Total assembled length: 629 mm / 24.764 "
Head: 214 mm / 8.425 ''
Upper joint: 179 mm / 7.047 ''
Middle joint: 149 mm / 5.866 ''
Foot: 89 mm / 3.504 ''
Internal diameter at cap end: 18.1 mm / 0.713 ''
Internal diameter at foot end: 14.5 mm / 0.571 ''
Embouchure hole diameter
longitudinal: 10.2 mm / 0.402 ''
latitudinal: 8.1 mm / 0.319 ''
ProvenancePurchased from Tony Bingham, London, England, 2002.
Published ReferencesLarson, André P. _Beethoven & Berlioz, Paris & Vienna: Musical Treasures from the Age of Revolution & Romance 1789-1848. With essay by John Koster. Exhibition catalog, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, September 12-November 2, 2003_. Vermillion: National Music Museum, 2003 (pp. 40-41)
Larson, André P. “Important Flutes Acquired . . . Rare Baroque Instrument Is the Oldest Flute in the Museum.” _National Music Museum Newsletter_ 29, No. 3 (August 2002): 1-2.
Credit LinePurchase funds gift of Tom and Cindy Lillibridge, 2001
Object number10103
On View
On view
