Harpsichord
Maker
Andreas Ruckers
Date1607
Place MadeAntwerp, Belgium, Europe
Serial No.No "Ruckers number" visible on bottom or keyframe. (Other parts that would have this are not original.)
SignedPainted on soundboard: 1607Cast-metal rose (65 mm diameter) in soundboard with an angel playing a harp, flanked on the left by the letter A, and on the right by the letter R.
MarkingsWritten with a brush in black ink or paint on the side rails of the key frame:
i2
octobre i757
Two 19th-c. shipping labels glued to the bottom:
1) Written in ink (much is nearly illegible):
M
Sulpère Antiquar
rue de la monta[gne?] 86
Bruxells[sic]
2) Printed label:
{some letters handwritten in ink, mostly cut away when the wood closing the hole in the bottom was planed even after gluing}
GRANDE VITESSE
{A much faded rubber stamp, best seen through infrared viewer: [one? illegible letter] A [illegible letter] SELT}
Chemin de Fer Grand Central I[?...]
DescriptionThis harpsichord underwent a process known as "petite ravalement", a common practice in late 18th-century France in which harpsichords were altered to accomodate more keys. In extreme instances ("grand "ravalement"), the case of the harpsichord was enlarged, and the original keyboard was disposed of. In a less obtrusive "petite ravalement", the case was left intact, and the original keys were replaced with slightly narrower keys in order to increase the compass.
Original disposition
C/E to c3 (45 notes)
1x8' + 1x4'
Buff stop divided at f1/f#1.
Current disposition
C to d3 (51 notes)
2×8' + 1×4'
Buff stop simultaneously affecting both sets of 8' strings, divided at b/b, controlled by rotating knobs at the front of the nameboard.
Plugged holes in the wrestplank, 8' nut, and 8' bridge indicate an early alteration in which a second set of 8' strings was added in place of the 4'. The compass remained C/E to c3, and the 4' bridge and nut were left in place.
Soundboard with painted decoration including the date "1607." Although the case was redecorated during the 18th and/or 19th century, it is essentially unaltered, retaining its original dimensions, internal construction, bottom board, and tool compartment with a door in the spine. The original bridges, nuts, and key frame were retained in the petit ravalement during which the keys and action were replaced.
Soundboard and wrest-plank veneer decorated with painted arabesques and flowers in the typical early Andreas Ruckers style.
DimensionsLength: 1812 mm
Width: 720
Height of case: 245 (max.) with bottom, 230 mm without bottom
The longer 8' c2 string is now 363 mm long.
ProvenancePurchased in 1999 from Wolfgang Ruf, Emmetten, Switzerland.
Published ReferencesKoster, J. “Infinitely Precious Instrument - A Newly Discovered Harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers, Antwerp, 1607,” America's Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter 27, No. 1 (February 2000), pp. 4-5.
-------. "A Netherlandish Harpsichord of 1658 Re-examined," Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 53 (April 2000), p. 139.
-------. “Towards an optimal instrument: Domenico Scarlatti and the new wave of Iberian Harpsichord making,” Early Music, Vol. XXXV, No. 4 (November 2007), p. 584
-------. "Traditional Iberian Harpsichord Making in its European Context," Galpin Society Journal 61 (2008), pp. 8, 21, 22, 29, 30, 45, 67.
John Koster. "History and Construction of the Harpsichord," The Cambridge Companion to the Harpsichord (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), pp. 2-30
Credit LineRawlins Fund, 1999
Object number07384
On View
Not on view
1625-1675 ca.
1530 ca.