Cor demilune, A
Maker
Crétien
Date1650 ca.
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
Place MadeVernon, Normandy, France, Europe
Serial No.none
SignednoneMarkingsStamped on bell in raised letters: VERNON
DescriptionBrass (0.7 mm thick); single-piece conical tubing; garland with serrated upper edge and impressed five-petal flowers. The original brass mouthpiece of large dimensions has a cast cup, sheet metal shank, and lacks a proper backbore.
The halfmoon-shaped, bugle-type hunting horn was known in French as "cor demi-lune" or "grand cor" (Marin Mersenne). The VERNON stamp is associated with various members of the Crétien family, a name documented from about 1620 until 1737. In 1692, the family’s residence in Paris was listed as “à la ville de Vernon,” and it has been suggested that this may refer to the origin of the family in Vernon, Normandy.
DimensionsHeight: 448 mm
Tube length: 785 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum): 12.5 mm, 11.9 mm
Bell diameter: 110 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2000 from André Bissonnet, Paris, France.
Published ReferencesKlaus, Sabine Katharina. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 1: Instruments of the Single Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2012), pp. 194-95, 267.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2000
Object number07490
On View
On view1825-1850 ca.