Serpent, C (or low-pitch D)
Maker
C. Baudouin
Date1801-1812 ca.
Place MadeParis, France, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on inside of bell: BAUDOUINMarkingsnone
DescriptionFruitwood, made from two halves with gusset at bell, leather cover, brass bocal, double s-shape, six fingerholes.
The maker C. Baudouin, of Belgian descent, is recorded in Paris from 1801 until around 1836. From 1812 onwards, he built serpents d’eglise (church serpents) with up to three keys. Not having a key, the present serpent may have been made before 1812.
DimensionsHeight: 850 mm
Tube length (instrument): ca. 1995 mm
Tube length (including bocal): ca. 2340 mm
Bore diameter (internal): 25/23–100 mm
Fingerhole positions (from receiver end): 775 mm, 813 mm, 851 mm, 1176 mm, 1217 mm, 1257 mm
Hole diameter (range): 14.3-15.1 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 1994 from Tony Bingham, London, England.
Published ReferencesSabine K. Klaus, "Serpent of Wood and Metal," ITEA Journal for Euphonium and Tuba, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Fall 2005), pp. 82 and 84.
-------. Trumpets and Other High Brass: A History Inspired by the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection. Volume 2: Ways to Expand the Harmonic Series (Vermillion, SD: National Music Museum, 2013), pp. 106, 107, 108–10, 113, 116, 255.
-------. “Serpent Precursors in Italy and elsewhere; the Serpent in the Low Countries and in Germany,” Musique–Images–Instruments: Le serpent: itinéraries passés et présents 14 (2013): 142–163; esp. 156.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 1999
Object number07123
On View
On view
1820-1830 ca.
1800 ca.
1940-1960 ca.
1940-1960 ca.