Pedal Harp
1813-1831 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
François Joseph Dizi (1780 - 1840), the maker of this harp, came from Naumur in Belgium but worked in London between 1796 and 1831 and spent the remainder of his life in Paris. His compositions ranged from a Grand Sonata to a series of études, romances and airs and he patented various improvements to the harp, which involved rearranging the strings along the central line of the belly of the instrument. The harp was very much in vogue in London from about 1800, largely owing to the entrepreneurial efforts of the firm of Erard who operated on both sides of the English Channel during the Napoleonic Wars. This example is decorated in gilt scrollwork, which was the highly fashionable in England in the 1820s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved, gilded and painted birchwood and pine |
| Brief description | English; 1815-1820; inscribed "F. Dizi ..." |
| Physical description | 'Round back of birchwood, painted, and with five slot-shaped soundholes. Pine belly painted with a recurrent scroll-pattern in gold on Prussian blue; this design is painted all over the instrument. Fluted pillar with corinthian capital and large Grecian scroll. The front of the base is supported by a pair of claw feet. The heavy neck is of four parallel steel plates housing a double-action mechanism with fourchettes. There are eight pedals and forty-three strings.' - Anthony Baines, Catalogue of Musical INstruments in the Victoria & Albert Museum, Part II. Non-Keyboard Instruments.(Reprint, 1998). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | F.Dizi's Perpendicular Harp. London. |
| Object history | This object was purchased from an unknown source for £20 in 1907. |
| Summary | François Joseph Dizi (1780 - 1840), the maker of this harp, came from Naumur in Belgium but worked in London between 1796 and 1831 and spent the remainder of his life in Paris. His compositions ranged from a Grand Sonata to a series of études, romances and airs and he patented various improvements to the harp, which involved rearranging the strings along the central line of the belly of the instrument. The harp was very much in vogue in London from about 1800, largely owing to the entrepreneurial efforts of the firm of Erard who operated on both sides of the English Channel during the Napoleonic Wars. This example is decorated in gilt scrollwork, which was the highly fashionable in England in the 1820s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 382-1907 |
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| Record created | December 15, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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