Harpsichord
Date1625-1675 ca.
Place MadeNaples, Italy, Europe
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsOn the back of the nameboard, a small paper sticker, oval with serrated edge, with writing in ink:
2246
2500
[...]hreiners
On the interior of the lid flap, a small oval paper sticker with the printed number 339.
Both labels are nineteenth- or early-twentieth-century inventory or identification numbers. The word on the nameboard label, written in German “Gothic” cursive, might well have been “Schreiners,” i.e., the possesive case, indicating ownership by someone named Schreiner.
DescriptionThe instrument shows several features common in Neapolitan harpsichords. These include the keyboard with its ivory naturals and drawer-like construction; the absence of end blocks; the jack-rail holders with a slip of wood to engage a slot in the end of the jack rail; the register gap perpendicular to the spine; and the pointed tail. Also, there was considerable activity in Naples in making instruments with split sharps from about 1600 to 1660 or so. Some of these “Neapolitan” features, however, were occasionally present in the work of Roman makers. The tail angle of 43 degrees is not as acute as the typical Neapolitan angle, often about 30 degrees; the moldings are quite different from the classic Neapolitan type; and Neapolitan makers did not usually carve the ends of their bridges and nuts as scrolls. The date of the instrument, whether made in Naples or Rome (or possibly somewhere else in southern Italy), is probably around the middle of the seventeenth century. Before this, makers in Naples and Rome (e.g., G.B. Boni working in the 1610s) tended to make harpsichords with a single 8' stop, while after 1660 or so divided accidentals began to fall out of use. By the middle of the seventeenth century some non-native makers were working in Naples and introduced non-Neapolitan stylistic elements, while makers in Rome (Girolamo Zenti and his school) were making instruments with much blunter tails, diagonal registers. So, all in all, a Neapolitan origin is perhaps more likely than Rome. But much further research needs to be done on the Neapolitan/Roman question in general.
The instrument, lacking moldings on most of its exterior, was certainly intended to be kept in an outer case and to remain in it when being played. The present outer case and lid might well be original. Inside the spine are recesses that held former hinges for the main lid, presumably much plainer than the present modern hinges, and the front edge of the main lid and the corresponding edge of the lid flap have filled-in holes that would have held wire hinges. The blue ground of the elaborate gesso decoration covers the filler of these holes. Thus, the entire ground and all the gesso decoration were added some time after the instrument was made. No doubt, the decoration could be dated from the art- and furniture-historical standpoint. For now, most telling from the musical standpoint is the trophy of instruments in the center of the main lid. The transverse flute has the simple ferrules and plain turning of later eighteenth-century or nineteenth-century flutes. Also, the notation of the musical score appears to be more modern than the eighteenth century. The exterior decoration of the outer case and the matching trestle stand, therefore, should be considered to be a nineteenth- or early-twentieth-century enhancement. The painting on the inside of the lid and the front board, however, might be older.
A single-manual harpsichord of the typical thin-walled Italian construction, with separate outer case.
The keyboard of this harpsichord originally had seven divided accidentals for d#/e♭, g#/a♭, a#/b♭, c#1/d♭1, d#1/e♭1, f#1/g♭1, and g#1/a♭1. The extra accidentals (d#, a♭, a#, d♭1, d#1, g♭1, and a♭1) have been suppressed (perhaps as early as the eighteenth century).
Keyboard with beechwood levers, ivory-covered naturals with ivory arcades, and accidentals ebony-covered over black-stained walnut substrates.
Compass apparent BB (presumably tuned to GG) to c3 (50 notes),
Disposition 2×8', apparently original;
The instrument is kept in a highly decorated outer case, with gilt gesso ornaments on a blue-green ground on the exterior, a painting of putti in a classical landscape on the interior of the front board, and floral paintings inside the lid. This decorative work is of very high quality, but some or all of it might have been added during the nineteenth century. The case itself is probably old, perhaps original. The stand consists of two trestles with decoration matching the case exterior.
DimensionsExterior dimensions of the instrument:
Length: 2260 mm, without moldings
Width: 770, without moldings
Bottom panel:
Length: 2244
Width: 761½
Cheek side: 453½
Tail side: 302
Tail angle components:
Along spine: 221
Spine edge to bent-side/tail corner: 205
Tangent of tail angle: 205÷221
Tail angle: 43 degrees
3-octave measure of keyboard: 486½ mm
ProvenanceGift of Joseph Rawley, Jamestown, North Carolina, 2006, who purchased it from a private collector in San Francisco in the 1960s.
Published ReferencesWatson, John. “A Catalog of Antique Keyboard Instruments in the Southeast, Part II,” Early Keyboard Journal, Vol. 3 (1984-85), p. 65.
Credit LineGift of Joseph Rawley, 2006
Object number12994
On View
Not on view
1530 ca.