Guitar.

Instrument

Guitar

Instrument Family

Strings

Date Made

Eighteenth century

Description

Technical description: Bookmatched soundboard of spruce. Bridge having the main (string bearing) section rectangular and topped with tortoiseshell. Underneath and below this is a decorative section of engraved mother-of-pearl glued onto an ebony base. Ebony dots with ivory tops (similar to those found on ninteenth century French and English guitars) at the sides of this added lower pieces in line with the bridge. Rosehole 73mm diameter, with layered card rose, having three layers plus an additional layer just below the soundboard. Around the soundhole is an inner ring of mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell in a barley-twist pattern, and this is surrounded by an outer ring consisting of a mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell geometric design of alternate squares and stripes. In between the inner circle and the rosehole, the two circles, and outside the circles are thin strips of mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell. The edging consists of ivory, with the geometric squares and stripes design inside that. The back and sides are of alternate strips of figured maple and rosewood, with bands of ebony/ivory/ebony in between. The ivory strips are twice the width of the ebony ones. There is an ivory edging between the back and sides. At the bottom of the instrument is a tapered rosewood strip, edged with ebony/ivory/ebony, with a large ivory end button halfway between the soundboard and the back, and a smaller button between the large button and the back. The heel, neck, and back of the head are veneered in tortoiseshell with lines of the geometric squares and stripes design edged by thin strips of ivory. The heel joins the neck with a sharp edge, and there is a V joint between the head and the neck. The neck is 287mm long, 50mm wide at the body join, 43mm wide at the nut. The fingerboard is veneered in tortoiseshell, edged with ivory, and featuring the geometric squares and stripes design inside. The tuning pegs are of ebony. There are modern frets on the neck and on the soundboard. String setup: 5 courses: (5 × 2) strings, 10 strings in total. Overall size: 910mm Body length: 422mm Body width, upper bouts: 202mm Body width, waist: 161mm Body width, lower bouts: 261mm Body depth: 109mm (bottom) - 97mm (neck join) String length: 598mm Signature marks: no inscription Decoration: The top of the head is also veneered in tortoiseshell with the geometric design inlaid. Repair History: There is an unoriginal plaque of engraved mother-of-pearl let into the top of the neck where the soundboard would originally have extended. The head shows restoration repairs from a previous conversion to a six-string guitar which had machine heads. The bridge is a replacement. General usage of type: This type was used in a period earlier than that of this instrument: this anomalous example may have been made to order. Specific usage history: Played by the mother of Andrew M. Ross.

Other Information

General usage of type: This type was used in a period earlier than that of this instrument: this anomalous example may have been made to order. Specific usage history: Played by the mother of Andrew M. Ross.

Notes

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

Measurements

910.

Provenance

LN Purchased with assistance from Government's Local Museums Purchase Fund and the University's General Council Trust.

Collection

MIMEd; Ross Collection

Accession Number

1594