Oboe, C
Maker
Oms
Date1780-1790 ca.
Place MadeBarcelona, Spain, Europe
Modelnone
Serial No.none
SignedMiddle joint, between fourth and fifth holes: [fleur-de-lis] / OMS EN / BARCELONAMarkingsBelow top baluster: [T-shaped maker's mark]
Above first hole: [fleur-de-lis] / OMS / 2
On bell: [T-shaped maker's mark] / OMS / [fleur-de-lis]
DescriptionBoxwood with two brass keys.
According to Borrás and Azquerro (1999), the Oms family is included in the records of the Barcelona guild of turners as early as 1781, when Anton Oms (b. 1755) passed his master's exam. Both of his sons, Anton, the younger, and Pere, were also guild members, entering in 1780 and 1781, respectively. Guild records, and those of the Barcelona Board of Commerce, confirm the Oms maintained a workshop; however, it is uncertain if members of the family participated in the production of musical instruments. As guild members, any work produced in their shop by non-guild craftsmen would have borne their mark. There is reason to believe that two foreign woodwind makers - Louis Boisselot and Francisco Bernareggi - may have produced musical instruments in the Oms shop.
The style of turning of this oboe, as well as the springs attached to the wood, suggest that it was made before 1800, an observation supported by Beryl Kenyon de Pascual.
DimensionsLength: 558 mm
Overall length without mouthpiece: 560 mm
Top joint: 210 mm
Middle joint: 208 mm
Bell: 141 mm
Bore of top of top joint: 6.9 mm
Bore at bottom of top joint: 10.3 mm
Bore at bottom of bottom joint: 13.8 mm
ProvenancePurchased in1996 from Sotheby's Auction House, London, England.
Credit LineBoard of Trustees, 1996
Object number06026
On View
Not on view
