Soprano recorder, B-flat
Alternate name(s)
- Fourth flute
Maker
S
Date1730 ca.
Place MadeNuremberg, Germany, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on all joints: SMarkingsnone
DescriptionStained boxwood. Ivory ring.
Like other European cities, Nuremberg had a thriving guild system, which included trades associated with musical instrument making. According to Kirnbauer (1992), the practices of these highly regulated societies could be used to identify an instrument's place of manufacture, as in this case, Nuremberg. There are numerous extant instruments that were marked with single letters, "S" among them, that have been attributed to Nuremberg based on known guild practices. While some believe it is possible to further associate initialed instruments with specific makers, no known sources can corroborate this.
DimensionsOverall length: 398 mm
Sounding length: 350 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1989 as part of a collection from Dale Higbee, Salisbury, North Carolina. Previously owned by Philip Bate, London, England, who either obtained it directly from Archibald Nettlefold of Kent, England, or purchased it at the Puttick & Simpson auction of his collection.
Published ReferencesMartin Kirnbauer, “Überlegungen zu den Meisterzeichen Nürnberger ‘Holzblasinstrumentenmacher’ im 17. und 18 Jahrhundert,” Tibia, Vol. 1 (1992), p. 19
Wendy Powers, “Checklist of Historic Recorders in American Private & Public Collections,” The American Recorder, Vol. XXX, No. 2 (May 1989), p. 60.
“USD Museum Acquires Higbee Collection,” Newsletter of the AMIS, Vol. XVIII, No. 3 (October 1989), pp. 2-3.
Wendy Powers, “Checklist of Historic Recorders in American Private & Public Collections An Update,” The American Recorder, Vol. XXXII, No. 1 (March 1991), p. 17.
Credit LineHigbee-Abbott-Zylstra Collection, 1989
Object number04826
On View
Not on view
