The most striking feature of this lute is itsr very long neck. Stretching well over a metre in length, the necks support a set of eight gut bass strings. The addition of bass strings to the lute made the instrument more versatile and was an enhancement of the earlier Renaissance lute. At this time, long strings were required to produce low notes and so the necks were lengthened to support them. Also noteworthy are the delicately worked geometric roses on the front of the lute. Carved directly out of the soundboard, the rose acts as the sound hole and so is as practical as it is beautiful. Unfortunately, little is known about Cinthius Rotundus and this lute is his only surviving instrument.Archlutes once provided improvised accompaniment for singers. They were also played as solo instruments, in ensembles, and even found a key role in the orchestras of the day due to their powerful, penetrating sound. Archlutes were most commonly played in Rome, where this instrument was made.
Archlute
Cinthius Rotundus
Rome
Europe
Southern Europe
Italy

Instrument Information

Title

Archlute

Alternative Title

theorbo; chitarrone

Accession Number

1051

Collection

C.H. Brackenbury Memorial Collection; MIMEd

Date Information

Date Made

1699

Period

17th century; 1690s

Gallery Information

Gallery

Wolfson Gallery

Case

Lutes case 8

Maker Information

Maker Name

Cinthius Rotundus

Maker Biography

Cinthius Rotundos was a luthier in Rome in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century who specialised in lutes, archlutes and theorbos.

Made In

City

Rome

Country

Italy

Description

Technical Description

Bookmatched soundboard of spruce. A section of the soundboard (38mm wide) at the treble edge has been replaced. The bridge is of fruitwood, 160mm long and width tapering from 10mm (treble) to 14mm (bass). Heart shaped terminals at each end. Geometric rose carved into the soundboard, 91mm diameter. Added piece of soundboard wood at the top, in between the fingerboard extensions, possibly from the same source as the added piece on the treble side. Several filled holes on the soundboard are symmetrical, showing that the damage had occurred before the wood was used in the instrument. Back of rosewood with bone spacers. 25 ribs in total, the outer ribs approximately twice the wide of the others. Rosewood capping piece. Edging around the soundboard of black stained fruitwood, but in some places there are inner strips of ebony. The fretted neck is veneered in rosewood. The bass neck appears to be of pine, painted black at the sides, and veneered on the top and back surfaces with rosewood, edged and lined with bone. The top end of the back surface has an inverted V-shaped inlay pattern of bone and rosewood. The end of the neck folds over on itself towards the top, and has a protruding piece of rosewood (not original) over which the strings pass. There are eight rosewood pegs with bone buttons. The pegs for the fretted strings are also of rosewood with bone buttons. There is a cast brass strap holder on the back of the neck above the fretted string's pegs, the design is of a lion's head. The fingerboard is of ebony, as is the nut. The fretted section of the neck is 305mm long, 81mm wide at the nut and 99mm wide at the body join. The fingerboard itself is 286mm long. There are ebony fingerboard extensions at each side, which go onto the soundboard, and a curved triangle from the bottom of the fingerboard and a heart in between the fingerboard and the first ebony fret on the soundboard, both made of ebony. There are 9 gut frets on the neck, and 5 ebony frets glued to the soundboard. Overall size: 1845mm. Body length: 525mm. Body width, maximum: 361mm. Body depth: 160mm. String length: 730mm (fretted strings), 1618mm (bass strings). Repair History: It is likely that the original edging was ebony, and that the fruitwood is later.

Provenance

ex- Van Raalte Collection; failed to sell at the 1927 auction; subsequently purchased by H.I. Brackenbury from Sir Arthur Wheeler, 9 December 1929, for £10/0/0.; Government allocation to the University, 1991.

Classification

Instrument

Archlute

Instrument Family

Strings

Hornbostel Sachs Classification

321.321-5; musical instrument