Flute, C
Date1720 ca.
Place MadeNuremberg, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedAll sections marked: I. W. OBERLENDER (in scroll set diagonally with left side lower than right, OB and ND as ligatures) / OMarkingsArabic 2 stamped on each section (but not on cap); stamped on both ends of each corps de rechange.
DescriptionIvory body in four sections with two additional upper middle joints (three corps de rechange in total). One engraved silver key (D#) mounted in a turned ring.
Several woodwind scholars confirm that this flute was made by Johann Wilhelm Oberlender I (ca. 1681-1763), based not only on the details of the master's mark but also specific qualities of this particular instrument. However, it should be pointed out that, in Nuremberg, master's marks were inherited. One cannot necessarily rely on the master's mark alone for identification purposes.
DimensionsOverall length: 629 mm, 610 mm, 597 mm (with the different corps de rechange)
Embouchure: 8.3 mm x 7.9 mm
Sounding length: 573 mm, 554 mm, 541 mm (with the different corps de rechange)
ProvenancePurchased in 1986 from Tony Bingham, London, England.
Published ReferencesPhillip Young, "Oberlender, Johann Wilhelm I," 4900 Historical Woodwind Instruments: An Inventory of 200 Makers in International Collections. London: Tony Bingham, 1993, p. 170 (see Y6).
The Shrine to Music Museum : A Pictorial Souvenir (1988), p. 39.
Credit LineRawlins Fund, 1986
Object number04073
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