Guitar.

Instrument

Guitar

Instrument Family

Strings

Place Made

Western Europe; France; Europe

Date Made

Seventeenth or early eighteenth century

Description

Technical description: Soundboard of bookmatched spruce. Bridge of ebony with raised ivory saddle and decorated at the back with barley twist alternate strips of ebony and ivory. Ivory dots at ends of bridge. Soundhole 81mm diameter with gilt three dimensional rose inside, the second layer in the shape of a star. Barley-twist ebony and ivory decoration directly around the soundhole which is in turn surrounded by an ivory band with inlaid ebony work. The soundboard itself is edged with barley-twist ebony and ivory. Sides of the guitar of ebony with a central ivory strip along the length of the sides, decorated with ebony vinework. Bottom of the guitar has a bordered ivory strip with the ebony vinework. Ivory end button with ebony ring. back of the guitar of seven strips of cedar separated by ebony/ivory/ebony strips. Ivory buttons at the top and bottom of the back, each with an ebony ring. heel and neck veneered in ivory with decorative ebony vinework, edged with a wide strip of ebony. Heel joins the neck at a sharp angle, and there is a V joint between the neck and the head. Head in a figure of eight shape, edged with metal machine heads for the instrument's six-string configuration. Machine heads labelled "RANCE" surmounted by a crown on each side. Top of the head decorated with barley-twist ebony and ivory. Raised fingerboard of ebony, with ebony and ivory barley twist edging. Ivory nut. Metal bar frets. String setup: 6 strings Overall size: 928mm Body length: 444mm Body width, upper bouts: 209mm Body width, waist: 186mm Body width, lower bouts: 247mm Body depth: 90mm (bottom) - 78mm (neck join) String length: 640mm Repair History: The bridge and head are replacements.

Notes

A. Macaulay, July 1991; D.P. Martin, 2003.

Measurements

928.

Collection

Macaulay Collection; MIMEd

Accession Number

0280