Harpsichord
Maker
Thomas and Barbara Wolf
Date1992
Place MadeThe Plains, Virginia, United States, North America
SignedAround rose: • BARBARA • AND • [above rose]
THOMAS • WOLF • [below rose]
DescriptionCommisioned by the donor, this instrument was played in a single public performance by Irina Rees at the Library of Congress in 1998. Thereafter, it remained in the owner's home, except for minor cleanup and regulation in 2011.
Double-manual harpsichord based on an instrument by Nicolas Dumont, Paris, made in 1707.
FF-f3. Transposing 392/415/440.
2 x 8', 1 x 4'. Buff stop
Soundboard and case painted by Sheridan Germann, Boston, Massachusetts: soundboard painting finished in 1991; case painting finished in 1992; lid painting finished in 1995.
The keywell and the borders of the case are copied from the 1733 François-Etienne Blanchet in the Château du Thoiry, France. The overall composition of the case decor is taken from the instrument as well, but the original birds have been replaced with baskets of flowers, cameos of Muses (Terpsichore, Euterpe, and Erato, from front to back), the god Apollo, and a cluster of instruments.
DimensionsCase: 93" long, 37.5" wide, 11" deep
The stand extends an additional inch on all sides
Full length of closed instrument: 38"
Published ReferencesBanks, Margaret Downie. "The story of a French survivor and its progeny." _National Music Museum Newsletter_ 45, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 1.
Credit LineGift of Gordon Collins, 2017
Object number15059
On View
Not on view
1625-1675 ca.
