Flute, C
Maker
Heinrich Grenser
Date1796-1806 ca.
Place MadeDresden, Saxony, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on head joint and foot: [crossed Saxon swords] / H. GRENSER / DRESDENStamped on all other sections: [crossed Saxon swords] / H. GRENSER
MarkingsArabic 1, 2, or 3 stamped below maker's mark on each of the three corps de rechange. Longest joint bears 1; shortest, 3.
DescriptionEbony body in four sections with two additional upper middle joints (three corps de rechange in total). Four block-mounted, silver keys with chamfered, square flaps. Ivory ferrules and headcap.
Dating of this instrument takes into account the crossed swords, which Heinrich Grenser included in his maker's mark from 1796-1806. According to woodwind scholars, his signature thereafter included a crown, as Saxony had become a kingdom.
DimensionsOverall length: 625 mm, 618 mm, 611 mm (with the different corps de rechange)
Embouchure:10.3 mm x 8.8 mm
Sounding length: 539 mm, 532 mm, 525 mm (with the different corps de rechange)
ProvenancePurchased in 1985 from Bernhard von Hünerbein, Cologne, Germany,
Published ReferencesPhillip T. Young, 4900 Historical Woodwind Instruments, Tony Bingham (London, 1993), p. 100 (see Y21).
André P. Larson. 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. Page 40.
William Waterhouse, The New Langwill Index: A Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors (London: Tony Bingham, 1993), p. 145-146.
Von Huene, Friedrich and James B. Kopp, "Grenser," in The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).
Credit LineRawlins Fund, 1985
Object number03573
On View
On view
