Alto recorder, F
Alternate name(s)
- Treble recorder
Maker
Jan Juriaensz van Heerde
Date1670 ca.
Place MadeAmsterdam, Netherlands, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped with a scroll, below duct window: I · V · HMarkingsnone
DescriptionOne-piece, Indian ivory body. Thumbhole and eight fingerholes. The duplicate hole for the left little finger is plugged with wax.
According to Jan Bouterse (Dutch Woodwind Instruments and their Makers, 1660-1760), this is the sole surviving instrument by Van Heerde that is made entirely of ivory, as opposed to other boxwood and maple instruments with ivory rings. An ivory sopranino recorder was reported in the collection of the Musikinstrumentenmuseum in Berlin prior to World War II; however, since that time its whereabouts are unknown.
Technical drawing available for purchase.
DimensionsLength: 465 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1988 from Ruth and Paul Schmitt, Krefeld, Germany. Apparently, this recorder was brought to Krefeld around 1850 by a Dutch merchant who gave it to a German merchant in settlement of his debts.
Published References"1987 Acquisitions at USD Music Museum," American Musical Instrument Society Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 2 (June 1988), p. 2.
Wendy Powers, "Checklist of Historic Recorders in American Private and Public Collections," The American Recorder, Vol. 30, No. 2 (May 1989), p. 62.
Jan Bouterse, "Historical Dutch Recorders in American Collections," American Recorder, Vol. 33, No. 3 (September 1992), pp. 14-15.
Jan Bouterse, Dutch Woodwind Instruments and their Makers, 1660-1760 (Utrecht: Koninklijke Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, 2005). Includes comprehensive study of extant van Heerde instruments, including the NMM's example.
Technical drawing by Friedrich von Huene, Brookline, Massachusetts, 1989.
Technical drawing by Matthew Zeller (graduate of USD/NMM Master's program), 2014.
Technical Drawings
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1988
Object number04504
On View
Not on view
